The Bad Girl
by Shizuma-chan
Summary: Life was not being too kind to Shira Haizawa so far this year. Moving, transferring schools, and being forced to be around her sworn enemy constantly was not her ideal last year of high school. Six years ago, her "prince" had led her to her best friend. Now, six years later, will her best friend lead her to her true prince?
1. Chapter 1

Life never seemed to go the way I needed it to. Just a month before my last year of high school my parents announced that we would be moving from Shizuoka to Kanagawa in a matter of weeks; ripping me from my best friend and placing me within a mile of my sworn enemy. That's basically the story of how I ended up here, in Kaijo High, slowly being nudged to death by an unknown assailant. I opened one eye that revealed my attacker to be a petite girl with light purple hair. "Haizawa-kun, can you please wake up?" she pleaded with me.

I slowly uncurled myself, and noticing the students in my class had dispersed into groups asked, "What's going on?"

"Takeuchi-sensei assigned a group project and he chose the groups. Sensei told us to tell you the assignment's online when you woke up, but I thought we'd get more work done if you were awake today," the lavender headed girl answered.

I snorted in a quite unladylike manner at the mention of my beloved Japanese History teacher. It was only two weeks into the school year and he, like many who had come before him, had given up on me completely. I guess I have a reputation for being a "bad girl", but I'm just unconventional to the extreme. Hell would freeze over before you saw me in a skirt, so I swapped the normal schoolgirl uniform for a white, short sleeved, button down shirt which was only ever half tucked in and a pair of black skinny jeans. I wear heels all the time because I have short legs and the word sensible is not in my vocabulary. I sleep in a lot of my classes because I don't like to sleep at night and I have been accused of being slightly abrasive to other humans. All of these things have caused me to be labeled as a bad girl, but I think that's inaccurate. All of my questionable behaviour stems from the fact that I simply care more about what I want than what other people want of me; if people wanted to brand me correctly they should start calling me a selfish girl, not a bad one.

The girl chuckled at my snort, "Anyway, Haizawa-,"

"Shira," I interrupted her, "Call me Shira."

A small smile played on her lips, "Shira, I'm Rima Takashi and this is-"

"I know who he is," I interrupted her again while looking at the third member of our group; who was currently a blushing mess refusing to meet our eyes.

The boy is Kasamatsu Yukio, an acquaintance of my enemy and someone I must avoid getting too chummy with. Although that doesn't seem like it'll be a problem given the fact he can't even look at my face. I yawned and said, "How about this you guys, let me sleep, and we can work on this after school."

"I, HAVE a-a baske-t-t-t-ball ga-me TODAY," Kasamatsu half stuttered, half shouted.

I winced at the loudness of his voice, "Okay then, we'll work after your game, and Rima, why do you have the cutest pout on your face right now?

"I just realized that you two both have really pretty blue eyes and I'm jealous," she said childishly.

"What are you talking about Rima, your eyes are prettiest shade of pink. They remind me of bubblegum; I bet the rest of you tastes as sweet as your eyes look," I said with a hint of seduction in my voice.

I turned to a beet red Kasamatsu as Rima puffed her blushing cheeks out at me and said to him, "You wish you were as smooth as me" and then proceeded to go back to sleep for the rest of class.

When I woke up I guess it was lunch because Rima was sitting across from me, unwrapping a bento. Noticing I was awake she offered me some of her food, which I gladly accepted. My head lying on the desk I whined at her, "Rima, feed me."

"I'm not going to feed you because you're too lazy as it is," Rima replied.

"It's not that, it just has always been my dream for a cute loli like you to feed me," I said wholeheartedly.

"I am not a loli," she huffed as she shoved a piece of omelette in my mouth."

"Hey, do you have any classes after this?" She asked me as I chewed.

I swallowed, "No, but most third years don't; why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go watch the basketball game with me," Rima asked tentatively.

"No," I replied quickly.

"Why not, there's this really beautiful player and this is our chance to get a good spot to watch the game before his fangirls get out of their classes," Rima begged.

"Do you like him?" I asked, fully aware of who she was talking about.

She clasped her fingers together, "Well he's a first year and I'm a third year."

I snorted, "You're two years older, it doesn't necessarily make you a cougar."

"I couldn't say I like him, because I don't know him, but I like the way he looks. Do you think I'm shallow now?" Rima asked me as she pushed more food into my mouth.

"Not really, boy's hella fine, but you're talking to someone who would set him on fire if that sort of thing was legal," I answered while chewing.

"You hate him?" Rima asked.

I nodded. She looked at me and pleaded, "Please Shira, I don't want to go alone."

"Why don't you ask your friends to go with you?" I questioned.

Shira looked away, "I don't really have any...I'm pretty shy, unlike you."

I sighed, "I'm shy too, only I'm angry shy, so most people just assume I'm a bitch."

Rima laughed, and I groaned, "Against my better judgement, I shall accompany you to this basketball game, my newly found friend."

As if the universe was agreeing with my decision, the bell rang signaling the end of lunch, and Rima and I headed to the gym.

Upon entering the gym, there was a decent sized crowd of female and male seniors, nothing in comparison to the massive second and first year fan base that would surely bombard the gym at the end of school. As we watched the game start Rima asked me, "So which school did you go to before here?"

"Fukuda." I answered plainly.

"I hear they have a great basketball team," Rima said cheerfully.

"I guess," I replied.

"What middle school did you go to?" Rima inquired.

"Teiko," I replied once more.

Her eyes widened, "Isn't that where Kise went, did something happen between you two during middle school to make you hate him?" she asked.

"I didn't know him in middle school. In fact, I've never met him," I admitted.

"Then how can you say you hate him if you don't even know him," Rima chided.

I looked at her, "All you need to know my sweet loli, is that blonde bimbo is an enemy by association."

She looked at me quizzically before bursting into laughter, "Did you just call him a bimbo?"

"That I did," I said.

We watched the game in silence after that. About halfway through the game Kise's fan base showed up and almost crushed us to death. We managed to stay alive till the end of the game when most of them left and wandered around the gym, hoping to corner their beloved idol. "We should probably head down and get Kasamatsu for the project," Rima said.

I nodded in agreement and followed her. When we entered the gym, Kasamatsu was in the middle of a very captainy sounding speech; holding a basketball in his hand he said, "...even though we were victorious today, we need to keep pushing our limits. I'm very proud of everyone on this team," he ended.

I started clapping, which attracted the attention of the basketball players. I started walking towards them saying, "You're supposed to clap after someone gives a speech, come on guys."

With that, the players started clapping vigorously until Kasamatsu shouted, "Shut up you idiots!" and turned to Rima and I saying, "WHY AA-RE you-u-u guys here?"

"The project, remember Kasamatsu?" was Rima's reply.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance, "This is going to get annoying real quick. Kasamatsu, open your mouth."

He was stunned, but complied. I wasted no time in attacking, much to the shock of those around us. The warning I had given myself earlier floated in my head.


	2. Chapter 2

It had not been five hours ago that I told myself not to get too chummy with Kasamatsu and here I am; full on french kissing the poor soul. It was necessary though, if we were going to get anything accomplished for our project. I broke the kiss and quickly avoided a basketball being thrown at my head as Kasamatsu screamed, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"

That blonde idiot stepped in between us and said, "Senpai's not good with girls, so if he gave you some wrong signals, I'm sure he's sorry."

I cocked my eyebrow, "I know that, I didn't kiss him because I like him. Now, can you back the hell up, you're invading my personal bubble."

Kise looked slightly shocked and afraid as he slowly stepped back from me. Rima came up behind me, "Was that the angry shy thing in action?" she questioned.

Looking at Kise I responded, "No, that was hatred in action."  
Turning back to Kasamatsu, who looked as if he might suffer a stroke any minute now, I said, "Sorry about that Yuki, but there was no other way."

He glared at me saying, "That halfass apology isn't working and don't call me that."

I placed my hand on his shoulder, "No need to be so formal, I did just have my tongue down your throat."

"The point of that being?" he asked.

"Exposure therapy," I answered.

He looked at me questioningly and I explained, "In comparison to that, talking to me normally isn't so bad now is it?"

I'm pretty sure I just blew the minds of everyone in the room, but there shall be no rest until I am sure we can finish this assignment. "Rima, come over here."

"No way," was her response; she knew my impure motives.

"We can work in here, just let me get cleaned up," Kasamatsu said.

"Okay, but don't shower, a sweaty senpai is a sexy senpai, and feel free to come back without a shirt on," I called after him, earning a disappointed look from both Rima and Takeuchi-sensei.

"Don't tell me that you, my beloved Japanese History sensei, don't find the natural scent of a man as alluring as I do," I deadpanned at Takeuchi-sensei.

I think he was seriously about to smack me with his clipboard, but Rima pulled me away, "Sorry about her sensei, we'll be over in this corner."

The other players started a light practice and I frowned and let out a puff of air, "They're practicing after a game, isn't that a bit much?"

Rima smiled at me, "Well, what do you expect from a team like Kaijo?"

I scrunched up my face, "It seems like a lot of effort, of which I have none, so I probably just don't understand."

Kasamatsu came out and joined us. We then proceeded to spend two long hours planning and researching for our project, which was about the Edo period and made me want to jump off a bridge.

We ended up finishing right as practice let up and I could sense an annoying yellow presence coming towards us. I hugged Kasamatsu and nuzzled his face saying, "Hey Yuki, make that annoying first year go away."

He looked confused at first, and then saw Kise jogging up to us, "Hey Kasamatsu senpai," Kise said.

Kasamatsu was about to greet him back when a shouting match between two girls interrupted him. A tic mark appeared on his forehead, "KISE, get your fangirls out of here!"

I nuzzled Kasamatsu's cheek again saying, "Yeah, can you get out of here blondie, you're interfering with our bonding."

Kise looked at me and blinked a couple of times in confusion. I didn't break eye contact until I felt a buzzing in my pocket and took out my phone; which kept on buzzing as I received several angry texts inquiring why I was late. I stood up, "Sorry comrades, we'll have to continue this little pow wow tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's Saturday, Shira," Rima reminded me.

I scoffed, "I know that, maybe I like to come to school on the weekends and do drugs on the roof , you don't know my life."

I received a smack on the back of my head from Kasamatsu and a giggle from Rima. As I headed out of the gym and to the train station I heard the bimbo ask Rima, "Is it just me, or does Haizawa senpai not like me?"

"She said you were her enemy," Rima answered truthfully.

"Ehhhh?" Kise exclaimed.

I walked out of the gym, so I didn't hear the rest of the conversation. I reached the train station and got on the Yokohama line. I sat down and got myself comfortable for the long train ride.

It's not really Kise's fault that he was my enemy; fate was to blame if anything. You see, my name, Shirahime, translates into white princess. When I was little, I was obsessed with finding my white prince. So, a long six years ago, I walked into Teiko Middle School, a bushy eyed first year, and what do I see? A tall white head that I had been fantasizing about since I was four. His name was Haizaki, and long story short; he was everything I imagined my prince would be and we ended up dating.

A couple of months later, I had discovered something. While my prince was content and amused by my pervertedness, loudness, and slight violent tendencies, I was not content with my prince's princeliness. He was too nice, too gentle, and I couldn't take it anymore. I arrived at his house a Friday evening, told him it wasn't working out, and watched as a single tear dripped down from his eye. I swear, this boy was straight out of shoujo manga or some type of fairy tale.

Cue little Haizaki, who walked in at that exact moment, and from what he's told me, loved me the instant he comprehended I was the one who had made his older brother cry. His name was Shogo; he walked in with wrinkled clothes, a bad attitude, and a porn magazine in his hand. I loved him instantly as well.

Little Haizaki invited me to stay, and a couple of hours later his mom insisted I stayed for dinner. Haizaki nii-san had gotten over our failed relationship in those few hours and I didn't leave their house until Sunday.

Over the years, Shogo and I became best friends, twin flames, two of a kind, and I assumed the role of his older sister and awkward adopted middle child in the Haizaki family. Which meant I was extremely protective of Shogo. Kise had never done anything to me, he probably never even done anything to Shogo. However, he had made Shogo upset, and that made him an enemy and in all honesty, he was lucky that he was still alive.

The train stopped after an hour and thirty eight minutes at Shizuoka station. I walked twenty minutes before I reached a house. I walked in, up the stairs and entered the room all the way in the back only to have a basketball thrown at my head. I avoided it saying, "That's twice today."

"What do you mean, and why the fuck are you so late?" Shogo asked.

I put my bag down and plopped myself on the bed he was currently laying on and said sarcastically, "I've fallen madly in love with Kise Ryouta and I spent all afternoon stalking him."

He laughed and I went, "No, I had a group project that I needed to work on after school with Kasamatsu Yukio, and he threw a basketball at me."

Shogo went quiet and looked at me, "I did make out with him against his will though," I said.

He laughed again and twirled the basketball on his index finger, "So what are we doing tonight," he asked me.

"We could fix that god awful hair," was my quick reply.

He gave me a dirty look as I continued, "I mean, I'm gone for a month and you're already falling apart, I mean who told you it was okay to get cornrows, you are a sixteen year old Japanese male."

"Did you go to the salon to get them done?" I taunted.

"I'm not changing my hair," he stated.

"We're changing it," I repeated.

It took a couple of hours and required me tying Shogo up, as well as reassuring his mother we were not reenacting scenes from 50 Shades of Grey, but by the end of the night, his hair was back to the way it was before and all was right with the world.


	3. Chapter 3

Going back to school on a Monday is a horrible experience. I spent the whole weekend with Shogo, which means I did not do any of my homework. Normally this would not be a problem because most teachers didn't expect much out of me, but my beloved Japanese History teacher was on his man period and demanded to see me after class. "Haizawa, I have tolerated your behaviour up to this point, but it will not continue," Takeuchi-sensei started.

"Shira," I interjected, "My friends call me Shira, and we're buddies, right sensei?"

He scowled at me, "As your punishment, I'm appointing you as manager of the basketball team."

I felt like someone just stabbed me in the chest, "But sensei…"

"No buts, you're to report to the gym after school," he said firmly.

I walked out of the classroom with a shocked look on my face and turned to Rima, who was waiting for me. She looked at me concerned, "What's wrong, it couldn't have been that bad."

"He...he made me manager of the basketball team" I managed to stutter out.

She gave me a sympathetic look, "Here, let's get you some food; food always makes things better," she said guiding me to the cafeteria.

Lunch ended all too quickly and I very slowly made my way to the gym. "Shira, you're late," sensei yelled at me as I entered the gym.

"Shira?" I questioned him.

He smiled at me, "We're buddies right?"

I looked at him as he laughed, "You are a sadist, sensei."

He then yelled at the players to line up and introduce themselves. There was Yuki, a guy who I couldn't understand a word he was saying but his eyebrow game was strong, Koji, Moriyama, and Nakamura; who I have already nicknamed hipster-chan. Takeuchi sensei glared at me to introduce myself. I sighed, "I'm Haizawa Shirahime, but just call me Shira. I know nothing about basketball and am here against my will, please take care of me blah blah blah blah blah."

"That was a wonderful introduction," sensei said sarcastically.

"I know, it was beautiful; almost brought a tear to my eye," I replied.

"If I may ask coach, as Shira said, she knows nothing about basketball; why are you making her our manager?" Kasamatsu asked.

"One, this is her punishment. Two, she's currently the only female you can talk to as captain. Three, she hates Kise, which means she's not going to fangirl over him and distract the team," sensei responded.

Kasamatsu nodded in understanding. I guess I could understand the appeal of having me as a manager, it wasn't like Kaijo had a lack of girls wanting to be theirs, if anything it was the opposite.

With that they resumed practicing and I sat down and was forced to do my homework by Takeuchi sensei. He was no longer my beloved sensei, he was now sadist sensei.

A little while after practice started Kise went up to the coach and asked, "Do you think I could get out of practice early coach?"

"Hmm, why, a job?" sadist sensei asked.

"I wanted to visit a former teammate, at Seirin," Kise replied.

Sensei narrowed his eyes, "You may, but only because we have a practice match against them soon."

Kise smiled, "Thank you sensei~, oh and do you mind if I take Haizawa senpai with me?"

"No," I answered him from across the gym.

"Sure," was sadist sensei's reply.

Kise jogged over to me, "Senpai, I really want you to go with me."

Giving him the dirtiest look I could muster, I asked, "Why?"

Kise rubbed the back of his head and looked down, "Because I need to have a really important conversation, and if I have a girl next to me, my fangirls might leave me alone."

I was about to decline when sensei shouted at us to go already. We started walking to the back of the gym, "I'm going to go change," Kise told me.

"Okay," I said, continuing on walking with him.

He stopped, "You can't come with me senpai."

I cocked my head, "Why?"

He blushed furiously, "Because that's embarrassing!"

I looked at him and frowned, "What are you, like eight?"

"Whatever, I'm going ahead to the station," I said before he could respond.

I made my way to the station, got myself a cookie because I felt I deserved it after the day I had, and boarded the next train to Tokyo. The blonde bimbo rushed in just as the door was about to close and smiled when he saw me. I cringed when he sat down next to me and started making idle conversation. I just nodded reluctantly and munched away at my cookie, and I thought I talked too much.

We got to Seirin without much of a problem, and I promptly abandoned Kise to find the gym by myself. I had come here partially for my own reasons. Walking into the gym I said, "Hey there, hope I'm not interrupting anything."

The players stopped practicing and looked at me. "Hello, Shira-kun," a certain player greeted me.

I smiled, hugging him, and saying, "There's my baby panda."

I looked around, "I guess Te-chan isn't out of the hospital yet."

A guy with glasses looked slightly shocked at my statement, "How do you know Kiyoshi?" he asked.

A little history lesson kids, as well as being a close friend of Shogo aka Thug-chan, I am also a dear friend of the infamous Bad Boy, Hanamiya Makoto. Over the years, our small, but fearsome squad has instilled fear into many a high schooler's heart. I knew most of the basketball players that were at Shoei, including Kiyoshi Teppei. Come to think of it, I know a lot of basketball people given the fact that I am not athletic in any sense.

Before I could respond to four eyes though, there was a commotion at the door of the gym. I could tell it was Kise by the cluster of girls surrounding the vicinity. He took about ten minutes to sign autographs before the girls dissipated and he came over. "Senpai, you left me," Kise whined.

"Never said I was staying with you," I replied quickly.

He saw that I was draped around Kuroko, "Senpai, do you know Kurokocchi?"

"Yeah," I responded nonchalantly.

"Ehhh, how?" he asked.

"You do recall that I went to the same Junior High as you right, you potato with eyes," I said in a snippy tone.

Kise whined some more about how I was being mean to him again and I tuned him out for a while until I heard him ask Seirin to give Kuroko to him. I started listening to their conversation after that, hoping that there was some homoerotic subtext going on. I got sick and tired of listening to it after a while and grabbed Kise by the tie, saying, "Blondie, get it through your head, Kuroko is not in love with you, he's committed to that hot redhead, lets go."

Despite Kise's protests, I gave my sweet panda a kiss on the head goodbye, and dragged the depressed model away.

Walking to go back home, I heard sniffling beside me, "Kurokocchi's so mean."

"I'm not buying it, so stop pretending to be upset, you're not getting any sympathy from me," I said plainly.

This is one of the main reasons I don't like Kise or people like him. I'm an extremely honest person, you get the truth good or bad from me. People like Kise, who sugarcoat everything and manipulate others to try and get reactions from them are the type of people I hate the most. The rest of the trip was made in silence.


	4. Chapter 4

The day of reckoning had come. It was the fated day that decided who won eternal glory for throwing a ball into basket. Sounds dramatic, I know, but I had to do anything to make this whole manger gig more interesting. After lunch, Rima and I made our way to the gym, where the Seirin team had already arrived.

"My sweet panda," I said giving Kuroko a hug.

"Hello, Shira-kun," he replied.

I noticed their coach having words with ours; something about only using a half court. Even though she wasn't happy about it, their coach had no choice but to comply. I walked up to Takeuchi-sensei, "Wow, that was an asshole move coach, and that's coming from a fellow asshole so you know it's true."

He glared at me and I shimmied my way to the other side. Rima followed me asking, "Why are we sitting over here?"

I pointed at Kuroko, "Because, he's adorable."

She gave me a very disappointed look and sat down. Now, I don't necessarily know what happened, but next thing I know the hot redhead had a hoop in his hand. After asking what happened, I have been informed by the benchwarmers that his name is Kagami. "Huh...destruction of property, I like this boy," I muttered.

Suddenly, I heard a very annoying whine from the other side of the court, "Haizawa senpai, why are you on the other side?"

I picked up a stray basketball and flung it at Kise, hitting him squarely in the face. As he began to fake cry Rima looked at me and said, "Was that really necessary?"

"Ours is the type of relationship that doesn't need words," I responded.

I believe they put Kise in the game shortly after; I started doing my homework, finding it less boring than watching the game. I looked up when the game ended, Seirin had miraculously won. As I congratulated Kuroko, I saw Kise crying and muttering how he had never lost before. Kasamatsu swiftly kicked and scolded him; thank the heavens for Yuki, he cuts my workload in half.

My presence no longer required, I left school, or at least tried to leave school. This girl with too much make up on tried to corner me, "Yes?" I asked.

Her eyes narrowed, "You're ruining his reputation you know, someone like you doesn't need to be hanging around Kise-kun."

She went on for a while; from what I can gather, she's the president of blondie's fanclub, although she does not seem to be a fan of me. I counted to ten like my therapist told me to, but at ten she was still talking and I was even more pissed, so I punched her in the mouth.

I walked away slightly regretting the way I had handled the situation. I had anger issues and incidents like this were part of the reason I have a bad rep. I looked at my hand which was covered in blood, "I must've hit her nose," I muttered.

I walked to the water fountains to clean myself up, and ran into the reason I needed to do so in the first place. I was about to sneak away and go to a bathroom instead when Kise noticed me and exclaimed, "Haizawa senpai, you've got blood on you, are you okay?!"

Then he attempted to touch my shoulder with a hand that I quickly swatted away saying, "It's not my blood."

"I see you haven't changed Shira," a familiar voice said.

I looked behind Kise to see Midorima, "Hey mommy," I said.

He adjusted his glasses and sighed, "I told you not to call me that."

"Shira senpai, you know Midorimacchi..and mommy?" Kise asked.

I walked over to Midorima, "Well you see here, Midorima's a cancer, which are the mothers of the zodiac, and I'm a Capricorn, which are the fathers of the zodiac."

"I see," Kise said in understanding.

"But he never calls me daddy and that makes me sad," I said, pinching Midorima's cheek.

He glared at me, "Please stop that."

I laughed and decided to stop torturing him so I could clean the blood off of me. Midorima looked at me, and then Kise, "How do you two know each other?" he asked.

"Haizawa senpai is our manager," Kise beamed.

I glanced at Midorima, "It was a punishment."

He looked away from me, "Well that explains it, it would be odd for you two to be friends.

Kise cocked his head, "Why?"

"You being a gemini, your signs are one of the most incompatible there are and...well, if you don't know how I know Shira then it isn't something you should concern yourself with," Midorima answered.

At that moment, an angry black haired guy pedaling a rickshaw appeared, and began shouting at Midorima. Midorima went to leave when I asked, "Hey mommy, give me a ride to the station?"

"No," Midorima replied.

"Now Shin-chan, that's no way to treat a girl," the other boy said.

Midorima looked at him, "Weren't you just complaining about pedaling it?"

"Yeah, with you in it, but that's not the case with this pleasant lady over here."

"Did you hear that mommy?" I said in between giggles, "I'm pleasant.

"Shut up and get in the cart," he responded.

The ride to the station was nice, the train ride was long, but I finally arrived in Shizuoka. I wondered if this was going to be my routine every weekend for the next year. Entering the house, I was surprised to find Shogo in the living room instead of his room. "Nii-san's visiting and we are being forced to have a sit down dinner," he replied to my look of questioning.

"Speak of the devil," I said as another person walked in the room.

Haizaki's older brother is about an inch taller than Shogo, with lighter hair, and the same grey eyes. He lives in and goes to college in Tokyo, so I don't get to see him that often. "Haizaki-nii," I greeted him.

"Shira," he said, picking me up into a hug.

"How's college life?" I asked him.

"Good, I ran into your brother a couple of weeks ago, he was in town on business," he replied.

"Oh, how is he?" I asked.

"He seemed good," he said letting me go.

My older brother was a good twelve years years older than me and out of the house by the time I was six, so we were never really close. A contributing factor was that he went to college and now taught in Akita, which is about ten hours away.

"Are you doing alright in Kanagawa?" Haizaki-nii asked me.

"Fine, except for me being forced into the manager position of Kaijo's basketball team," I answered.

He laughed and put his hand on my head, 'Well, I'm sure you'll get through it. "

I groaned and looked at Shogo, "Can you go there one day and cause a ruckus so I get kicked off?" I asked him.

"No," Shogo replied quickly.

I squinted angrily at him, "You are going to regret that decision, Shogo Haizaki."


	5. Chapter 5

I yawned tiredly, I had actually tried to pay attention in History, and I was worn out. It was now lunch, and I was currently trying to steal food from the surrounding area. Rima was my prime target, I would try to steal some of Yuki's, but he is scarfing down his food at an alarming rate.

"Can I ask you something Yuki, are you preparing for hibernation?"

"What?" he asked me with a full mouth.

"I've seen ravenous animals eat with more decorum than you right now," I explained.

His eyebrows furrowed, "I have practice after this, I need my energy," he said a tad aggressive.

I leaned back in my chair and tried to discreetly steal some of Rima's food, "I see, I see, I admire your dedication Yuki."

She saw my hand coming a mile away and swatted it away with her chopsticks. I winced, she had hit a small cluster of bruises on my knuckles that had formed due to the incident a couple days ago.

"You still not going to tell me what happened?" Rima asked.

"It's not important," I said.

I could tell by his face that Kasamatsu was about to go into lecture on how it is wrong to fight (which I found ironic coming from him), but he was stopped by someone entering the classroom, who I could argue, was way too happy for it being a Monday.

"What are you doing here?" Kasamatsu asked.

"Because I wanted to have lunch with my senpais∼," Kise answered him.

Kasamatsu nodded, Rima greeted him, and I looked out the window in silence despite him sitting right next to me. Out of boredom, I made the mistake of rapping my knuckles on the desk, making me flinch in pain. "You should wrap them if it's that bothersome," Rima said, poking the bruises with her chopsticks.

I pulled my hand away from her, "It's fine as long as people don't prod at them with pointy, wooden eating utensils."

"Is that from the other day senpai?" Kise asked.

"Yeah," I answered indifferently.

In hindsight I should have said something mean as a reply, because Kise then took my hand, and I swear roses and sparkles appeared around him as he delivered a line that would make any other girl at this school swoon, "Senpai, do you want me to kiss it and make it better?"

Kasamatsu gave him a swift kick before I could slap him, but in a few seconds I was able to speak for myself. With a look that made his shoujo sparkles disappear and with a murderous aura that was worthy of a yakuza member I said, "If your lips ever touch any part of my person, intentional or accidental, I will rip them off and sell them to your fangirls online."

Kise then proceeded to fake cry and whine about how Kasamatsu and I were mean to him all the time. I tried to take some of Rima's food again, but failed miserably. "You should really start bringing your own food," she said.

"She's right, I rarely ever see you eat," Kasamatsu said.

All of a sudden over his crying fit, Kise grabbed my shoulder and said dramatically, "Senpai, you shouldn't starve yourself, you're beautiful just the way you are!"

I blinked at him a couple of times before replying, "I don't starve myself, I'm just too lazy to make my lunch everyday."

He looked at me, "Senpai...you do know we have a cafeteria here right?"

"Of course I know that, I just don't feel like paying for it when I have free food at home," I snapped at him.

Sensing my growing irritation, Rima asked Kise, "You're lunch looks good, do you like to cook?"

Kise beamed, "Not in particular, but my older sisters like to make my lunch everyday-ssu."

I looked at him and wondered in silence if treatment like that was the reason he acted like a baby 80% of the time. I didn't have time to think about it too much because the bell rang for the end of lunch. Instead of slowly making my way to the gym, I walked up to Takeuchi sensei and said, "Hey there, sa-beloved sensei, I just wanted to remind you that I did really well in class today."

He glared at me, I continued, "There's a tiny favor I need to ask of you."

"What?" he asked gruffly.

"There's something I need to tend to, so I will not be able to go to practice today," I said.

In response to his silence I added, "And I would also like to remind you that I answered a question today; voluntarily."

He waved at me to go, and I scurried out the door before he could change his mind. "Where are you slinking off to?" A voice behind me asked.

I turned around to face Rima and said, "I have a friend from out of town that's visiting me."

She pouted, "And you weren't going to invite me."

I rubbed the back of my head, "Well, he's kind of an asshole, and we're probably just gonna hang out at the arcade and hit on people, maybe get into a fistfight and see where the night takes us. I didn't know if you'd be into that."

She laughed, "I can't say much for fistfights, but if you're friend is anything like you I think I'll like him." I giggled nervously as we made our way to the arcade.

When we got there, I could not find my silver fox of a friend for the life of me. "What does he look like?" Rima asked me.

"Tall," I responded.

"That's descriptive," she said, "Wait, is he a basketball player?"

"Yeah," I replied.

She looked at me, "You are not into sports at all, why do you know so many athletes?"

"I honestly have no clue, I will do some soul searching tonight-OH MY GOD ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!" I shouted as I found the person I was looking for.

Shogo smirked at me, "Well hello to you too."

I walked up to him, "We are changing that monstrosity. Again. Rima, this is Shogo Haizaki, I know you can't tell, but he's actually handsome despite his horrible choice in a hairstyle."

I glared at him, "Be nice to her or die."

Rima smiled, "Nice to meet you Haizaki-kun, Shira tells me you play basketball."

Haizaki started walking in, "I guess, it's just something I fell into."

Once we got in, Rima and I went to go get something to drink and sit down, while Haizaki made a beeline for a basketball game. Rima looked at him, "Something he just fell into huh?"

I laughed, "I know, Shogo's a major tsundere when it comes to basketball."

"Did you two go to the same middle school?" Rima asked.

I nodded and sipped my drink. She looked at me seriously, "Is he the reason you consider Kise your enemy?"

I started at the accuracy and abruptness of her question, "Yeah, how'd you know?"

She sighed, "Just a feeling I got, the issue between you and Kise seems one sided, so I figured a third party was involved."

I was quiet for a minute, "Do you mind me asking what happened?" Rima questioned.

"Long story short, Kise replaced him on the basketball team," I said.

"Is that it, you know that's not surprising, Kise's a great player," Rima said.

"True, but Shogo's better. In fact, Kise never won against Shogo even once," I replied.

"Really?" Rima asked.

I nodded. "Then why did he get replaced?" she asked.

I was about to answer her when a familiar girl came up to our table, sobbing. Her make up was smeared due to the profuse amount of tears running down her face. The split lip I gave her still showed no matter how much she tried to cover it up. "Umm...hello again," I said, not knowing how to respond to this new development.

"H-e, is..such a J-ERK!" she said with a touch of anger at the end.

Rima looked at me weirdly, "Knuckles," I explained.

She nodded in understanding as I asked the girl who was a jerk. She sniffed, "Kise, he figured out that you did this to my lip and that I did something to you, he said that I was a horrible person and he never wanted to see me again."

"That bastard," I said sympathetically.

Rima raised her eyebrows, "You do realize he was defending you, right?"

"The details aren't important," I said offering a chair to the sniffling girl.

I gave her my soda and ordered her to drink it, "Now, I must continue with my tale, by the way it paints Kise in kind of a bad light, so enjoy," I said to the girl.

I cleared my throat, "You see, the previous captain handled Shogo pretty well, but things became different when there was a change in captains and when Kise joined the team. Shogo had always skipped practices and I don't believe he actually ever played in an official game; the new captain ordered Shogo to quit the team because of his bad behaviour and Kise replaced him. Like I stated before, Shogo acts like he doesn't care about basketball, but he really does and I know it hurt him. Now he's on this path to destroy all of them, but I think he just might end up getting more hurt in the end."

I was tearing up after the telling of the tragedy, Rima looked really sad, and the girl was sobbing again. Shogo came up to us, and giving me a weird look asked, "What's wrong?"

"We understand. We understand," Rima said softly.

"That's not creepy at all- ooh a hot babe," Shogo said leaving us.

The girl sniffed, "He's so cold hearted, I'm glad I'm done with him."

"Aren't you the president of his fan club?" I asked.

"Oh I quit, and I joined yours," she replied.

"What?" I asked confused.

Rima laughed at me, "Didn't you know, almost every delinquent belongs to it, you're like their queen or something."

The girl grasped my hands, "Senpai, please forgive me for the other day, you're the only person I know that sees Kise for the person he is. I know you haven't received much support from your fans, but that's going to change now that I'm president."

"I am so confused," I said under my breath.

Rima looked at me and smiled, "You know, all you have to do to avoid this craziness is do well in History, I bet Takeuchi-sensei would let you go."

I laughed, "That would be a miracle my sweet loli."


	6. Chapter 6

I felt bad for Takeuchi-sensei, I really did. He already had to deal with Kise's insane amount of fan girls trying to see him practice on a daily basis, and now this. I was sitting on a bench with Rima, who had taken to accompanying me to basketball practices, and we were trying to ascertain whether Hayakawa was asking for water or a towel, when Kise's ex fan club president burst in.

I had learned since we talked at the arcade that her name was Sakura. I thought the name fit her, given the fact that she had powder pink eyes and hair. It was her, in curled pigtails and her schoolgirl uniform, that lead a large group of rough looking teenagers. Kise stopped practicing and looked at her coldly, "Sakura, I thought I told you I never wanted to see you again."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, "Well, I'm not here for you."

With that, she walked over to me, and embracing me said, "Senpai, I know how hard it must be to be around someone who is so cruel, but I just want you to know, we're here for you."

"I...um...appreciate that," I said, patting her awkwardly on the back.

Takeuchi-sensei then started yelling at everyone to get out because this was basketball practice and not a social event. He looked like he was about to kill someone, and what was even more scary was that he was looking at me. "HAIZAWA, GO GET TOUOU'S TAPES FROM LAST YEAR AND BRING THEM TO THE CLUB ROOM," he screamed at me.

"Yes sir," I saluted him and skipped to his office.

I found the tapes I needed in five minutes, but to my dismay, they were on the top shelf. "Okay Shira, time to get creative," I said to myself.

The desk is too far from the shelf for me to reach, so that is out of the question. My only option, albeit stupid and highly dangerous, is a black rolling chair. I rolled the chair over to the shelf and carefully climbed and stood on top of it. I heard Takeuchi-sensei ask someone to see what was taking me so long, and I groaned when I heard who volunteered to go see. A couple of seconds later I heard a voice go, "Haizawa senpai, that's dangerous!"

"Being short is a dangerous business," I snapped back.

"At least let me help you," Kise whined.

I sighed, "Fine, just make sure I don't fall."

I started and almost fell when I felt his hands settle on either side of my waist. "What the hell are you doing?" I yelled at him.

"Making sure you don't fall," was his reply.

"Then hold the chair, this isn't the Titanic and I don't want you touching me," I said, unwilling to admit out loud that the real reason that I didn't want his hands around my waist was because I am extremely ticklish around my midsection.

"And I, will always love you∼," Rima sang as she walked through the door.

Kise laughed and complimented her singing voice. "Kise. Hands," I reminded him.

He laughed, "Oh, sorry-ssu," he said moving his hands to the chair.

"What are you two doing in here anyway?" Rima asked.

"Attempting to retrieve these tapes from this ridiculously high shelf. I don't even know how sensei reaches these, he's not exactly the jolly green giant," I replied.

Rima laughed, but was interrupted by the ringing of my phone, "Oh, this is why I came in here, it's been ringing non stop for ten minutes."

Although I already had a feeling about who was calling me I asked, "What does it say the name of the contact is?"

Rima looked at it, "It just says #32."

I groaned, I really did not want to deal with this right now, "I'll deal with it once I get these tapes."

I reached with all my might, and finally managed to grab the couple of tapes from last year. "Here," I handed them to Kise.

Rima handed me my phone and I steeled myself. "Hello?" I answered.

I heard sobbing and incoherent screaming on the other line and felt like crying myself. You see, having a best friend who uses and then throws away girls is not a walk in the park. Some time ago, I had given up on learning all the names of Shogo's rotating girlfriends and started keeping track of them numerically. I liked some of them, but they all always ended up calling me in hysterics after he dumped them. They were either convinced that he was actually in love with me, or they wanted to know what they had done wrong. "No, I'm sure you didn't do anything," I assured the girl on the other line.

She continued talking, "Well, he's an asshole," I said, earning weird looks from Rima and Kise.

"Look, I have to go, but just know you deserve someone much better and you're a wonderful person," I finished. I didn't know if it was true, I barely knew the girl, but there was a good chance of her being a perfectly good human being. It was always the sweet girls who threw themselves at Shogo when, in my opinion he needed someone he had to work for. Shogo needs a girl who can have any guy she wants and someone he has to worry about them leaving him all the time.

I looked at Kise, having a mini epiphany, "If only you were a girl," I said walking past him.

"Ehh? Senpai, don't just say things like that and walk away," I heard him shout behind me.

Sensei looked at me expectantly when I walked into the club room. "Blondie's got the tapes," I said sitting down next to Yuki.

Kise and Rima entered the room shortly after me, Rima sat down next to Hayakawa and Kise handed the tapes to sensei and sat down next to me. Takeuchi-sensei played the video and began pointing things out to the team; my eye wandered to a certain player on the screen. "Obviously Aomine Daiki is our main concern regarding Touou, but we need to be prepared for their current captain and center," Takeuchi sensei said.

He started analyzing their center first, Wakamatsu Kousuke, which elicited a growl from Hayakawa. I looked at him and asked, "Any reason for that animalistic noise, eyebrows?"

"Wakamatsu really fires him up because their personalities are the same on the court," Yuki explained to me.

I nodded and continued to half listen to what sensei was saying. He moved onto their captain, Imayoshi Shouichi, and began listing his positive attributes; intelligence, mind games, ext. Before my mind could tell my mouth that it wasn't the appropriate thing to say at this time I quickly added, "He's a pretty good kisser too."

Everyone in the room turned and stared at me, "Sorry, that sort of slipped out," I apologized.

Rima wiggled her eyebrows and asked, "And how would you know that, Shira?"

I laughed at her facial expression and answered, "Because he's my ex."

Kise frowned slightly, "He looks really creepy and mean Senpai."

"He is creepy and mean," Kasamatsu confirmed on the other side me.

I laughed again, "Trust me, he's a hell of a lot creepier when you're close to him."

Kasamatsu smiled, "I'm guessing the relationship was short lived then."

I looked at him seriously, "No, we were together for like two and a half years."

"That's a long time Senpai, you're so committed-ssu," Kise exclaimed from my left side.

I suddenly stood up and slammed my hands on the table, "I finally figured it out, Rima, he's the reason why there's so many basketball players."

Rima hit her fist in her hand, "That makes so much sense."

"Excuse me," Takeuchi sensei said aggravated.

"I'm sorry sensei, but I just had a personal realization that I think is way more important than this," I said loudly.

Takeuchi sensei sighed, "I give up for today, I'll see you all Thursday," he said walking out the door.

The team dispersed after that, but Kise came running after Rima and I, "Haizawa and Rima senpai, me and Nakamura senpai are going to Maji Burger, do you want to come with us-ssu?"

I looked behind him and saw Hipster-chan, and while I would normally never want to spend time with Kise, I was starving. "I'll go, how about you Rima?" I asked.

Rima nodded yes and the four of us walked out of school together, I frowned when I remembered that the closest Maji Burger was a fifteen minute walk and my feet were killing me. I was about to take off my shoes when Rima stopped me, saying, "Don't even think about it, I have to be seen around again and I would rather people don't remember me walking with a bare foot crazy person."

I frowned at her and said to myself, "Time to be creative again Shira."

People gave Nakamura and I odd looks as he carried me, but not as many if I had been walking around shoeless. When we got to Maji Burger, Nakamura put me down at the table we had decided to eat at, I glared at Rima, "Thank you Hipster-chan, at least someone cares about the welfare of my feet."

"I offered to carry you," Kise whined.

"Oh hush, the both of you," Rima said.

Nakamura then brought our food over. I grabbed a couple of burgers and some fries, I watched Kise out of the corner of my eye and pretended that I didn't see him staring at me as I ate. Keeping in mind our conversation from the other day, I had half a feeling that Kise invited me just to make sure I was eating properly. "Rima, aren't you going to eat anything," Nakamura said.

We all turned to her, "No, I've actually got plans for dinner, so I want to save my appetite," she replied.

"What, do you have a family dinner or something?" I asked her.

"No, I have a date," she answered with a slight blush on her cheeks.

Kise beamed, "Really, who?" he asked.

"Hayakawa-chan," Rima responded.

I laughed, "You really are a cougar Rima."

She stuck her tongue out at me and said, "I have to leave to get ready, sorry for leaving you guys."

"Don't worry about it, have fun," I said as she left.

I was a little bit jealous, it had been ages since I'd been on a date. Shouichi and I had broken up halfway into my first year of high school, and I had taken the rest of the year off from dating. Unfortunately, the guys who weren't too scared to ask me out were almost always terrified of Shogo, who constantly hung around me.

I was brought out of my thoughts by Kise shoving a magazine with him on the cover in my face. I took hold of it as Kise said to Nakamura and I excitedly, "I thought it was only supposed to be a 4 page spread, but it turned out to be 11 pages!"

I flipped through the pages, looking at his pictures, and taking a pen I started doodling devil horns and mustaches on him. Kise noticed and tried to take the magazine away from me exclaiming, "Senpai, don't do that!"

I laughed, jerking my body away from him, "I'm almost done...there!"

I held up a page that featured the blonde in jeans and an a blazer without a shirt underneath, except now the image had Kise sporting a mustache, monocle, and a top hat. He pouted and told me I was mean; I just laughed and insisted that I had improved the picture. Nakamura looked at us bicker and said regretfully, "Hey, I have an English test tomorrow I need to study for, so I need to go."

I sighed as I was left alone with Kise. Standing up, I was about to make an excuse to leave when Kise grabbed my wrist, "Haizawa senpai, I want you to go somewhere with me."

"What?"

"Kurokocchi has a game against Midorimacchi right now, you like watching them play right?" he explained.

I nodded, and prepared myself for another trip to Tokyo with Kise.

* * *

When we arrived at the match, it was at the beginning of the second half. "Kasamatsu senpai?!" Kise said when he saw the black haired male sitting down.

Yuki looked at us, "Oh, it's you two."

Kise sat down next to him and I followed, "What are you doing here senpai?" Kise asked.

Kasamatsu smacked him, "Not everyone is so carefree as you, this game decides whether Shuutoku or Seirin will advance, of course I'm here."

"I don't think it matters, we'll definitely be seeing Aominecchi in the finals," Kise said matter of factly.

Kasamatsu smacked him again, "You idiot, didn't I already tell you about underestimating people?"

I wasn't really listening to them, unlike most games, I was actually interested in what was going on. Especially since I knew that Mommy and my sweet panda didn't necessarily get along. Despite being a hard worker, Midorima still had an elitist attitude and I hoped Kuroko could make him respect his basketball.

My hopes were granted in the end when Seirin won. I went up to Kuroko afterwards and gave him a big hug, "I'm so proud of you," I said.

"Thank you, Shira-kun," he replied.

I skipped over to Midorima as well, "I'm proud of you too, wait, why do you have someone's name written on your hand?"

I read the name and shouted, "KAGAMI, are you cheating on my baby panda with Mommy?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'm going to go with no," Kagami replied.

Kuroko appeared beside me, "Sometimes your nicknames can be confusing to people, Shira-kun."

I admit he might be right, but I wasn't able to voice that, given that Kasamatsu dragged Kise and I away, saying that we were going to miss the the train.

An hour or so later all three of us were walking towards our homes. "I'm going this way, Kise, make sure Shira gets home safe."

I snorted, "Yuki, you are aware that I can take care of myself, probably better than Kise can."

Kasamatsu's eyebrow twitched, "Then make sure your underclassman gets home safely, it's dark outside."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, it's in the same direction I think," I conceded.

Kasamatsu then left us, and we continued walking. Kise flipped through his magazine, "You're so mean senpai," he whined.

"I made those pictures better and you can't convince me otherwise," I retorted.

Kise looked at me seriously, "I'm never going to be able to impress you, am I senpai?" he said in a tone that was missing it's usual fake cheerfulness.

"Probably not," I said plainly.

He sighed, "Why is it that I can ever get recognition from the people I want it from?"

"Maybe you should change your selling point," I said.

He looked at me with a puzzled expression, "What?"

"The people you want to notice you don't seem to care about how nice you seem to be or how you look, so why don't you start trying to sell a different part of yourself to them," I explained.

"That's deep senpai," Kise said.

I shrugged, "My dad works in marketing, you'd be surprised how many things advertising can be applied to in real life."

We were quiet until I saw my house come up, "I know Yuki said to walk you home, but I think you can take care of yourself."

I walked up to my door and glanced at the blonde teen walking slowly away, "And if not, I'm sure there's a fangirl stalking you, ready to assassinate anyone who tries to hurt you," I shouted after him.

Due to the complete silence of my house, I could hear him laughing even after I had closed the door.


	7. Chapter 7

"Here, senpai∼," an overly happy blonde said as he shoved a box in my face.

I looked at him apathetically, "What is this?"

"Since you said that you don't like to make your lunch, I asked my sisters to make an extra bento for you," he said all proud of himself.

I turned away from him, "No thanks."

A look of sadness flashed across Kise's face, Rima looked at me saying, "Aww, just take it, he looks like a sad puppy."

I slowly turned my head and slid the box over to myself saying, "I don't like you very much, but I have nothing against your sisters."

Rima smirked, "That, and you'd never actually turn down free food."

"True," I said taking a bite of the food.

Kise watched me as I chewed, "Is it good Haizawa senpai?" he asked.

I nodded a yes and he smiled softly, "I'm so glad senpai-ssu."

I interlocked my fingers and rested my chin on them saying, "Is that genuine happiness I'm detecting?"

"No, it's a renewed sense of determination," Kise answered.

"Regarding what?" I asked.

"What you said last night," Kise responded.

"What did I say last night?" I asked.

"You said that I probably can't impress you, which still means I have a chance," Kise said smiling.

"Good luck with that Kise," Rima said sympathetically.

Changing her tone Rima asked everyone, "Does anyone have plans for white day, tomorrow?"

I'm sure that it must be easy to ask other people that question when you're currently attached to eyebrows. "You do realize who you're talking to right? Moriyama isn't here right now, but he's probably racked up three restraining orders trying to get a date for tomorrow, Yuki can't talk to girls, Blondie's going to get a crapload of chocolate and confessions from his fans, and I sure as hell am not confessing to anybody," I answered for all of us.

"Why not? Are you still getting over your relationship with Imayoshi?" Rima asked me.

"No, we haven't been together for over a year," I answered.

"Then why?" Rima probed.

I shrugged back at her. I couldn't exactly say that my best friend always cockblocked me and I got used to not having someone. I sighed, "I guess I just don't see the point in starting anything with someone when I'm going to college after this year, I already tried having a long distance relationship with Shouichi, it doesn't work."

Rima pouted, "Well that's cynical of you."

I laughed, "Have you met me?"

"Unfortunately," she spat back playfully at me.

I was about to provide her with a snarky reply, but was interrupted by Takeuchi-sensei saying from his desk, "Shira, good work on the test last week, you actually passed."

"Does that mean I don't have to be manager anymore?" I asked.

"No, this obviously seems to be working," he said firmly.

Rima looked at me, "I guess miracles do happen."

"Not that they matter apparently," I replied.

"Completely off topic, have you and Kasamatsu ever realized that you could be siblings?" Rima asked.

I'm sure she was referring to the fact that we both had the same color eyes, hair, and bitchy resting face. "Yes, I have realized this fact," I replied.

"Now that Rima senpai mentions it, it's kind of creepy how similar you two are, and you're both so mean to me-ssu," Kise said.

"If I'm so mean to you, why do you keep trying to impress me?" I asked.

"Because I can't," Kise said seriously.

I smiled, "So it's like what that American hottie said, what was it, it's better if I can't win?"

"Senpai, you know his name is Kagamicchi, right?" Kise asked.

"Fine. _Kagamicchi_ it is," I said mimicking Kise's nickname.

The bell rang and Rima laughed saying, "You two are hopeless."

The four of us went to the gym for practice. Things were going about normally, I was doing my homework, Moriyama was sulking in the corner about how he doesn't have a girlfriend, and Rima was tending to her new boyfriend's every need. Now, I really feel for Takeuchi-sensei, because there are so many distractions that keep happening when he's trying to prepare his team for the interhigh. I probably feel for him more than most because more than half of them seem to be coming from me. The cold hearted part of me thinks he deserves it for making me do this job as manager, but no one really deserves their practice to be interrupted by someone like him

Like I said, things were going about very normally, until I heard a familiar syrupy voice say, "There's my favorite girl."

Everybody in the gym turned to the speaker except for me, I didn't need to look to see who it was. "I thought we mutually understood that I wasn't speaking to you," I said still looking down at my homework.

"Too late," a voice laughed in my ear.

"I'm sorry for the intrusion sensei, I'll take this outside," I said, leading the owner of the voice out by his tie.

I could tell they were all bewildered by my politeness, but I couldn't help it, I felt like being overly nice whenever I was around him.

* * *

The sun was just starting to go down, painting the sky with streaks of dull yellow and a harsh orange. I leaned against a bench while my companion sat on it with his arms outstretched, his fingers dangerously close to my back. "What do you want?" I said harshly.

"To talk," he said.

"That's always all you ever want to do, but something more always ends up happening, doesn't it," I replied.

"You knew what type of guy I was from the beginning," he said.

"Your point being?" I asked.

"Why the silence?" he asked back.

"That was on a whole different level and you know it," I answered.

"You're right," he said.

"Apologize and I'll talk to you," I said.

"Apologize to you?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.

"You know who I'm talking about," I said in a steely voice.

"But I don't regret it," he laughed.

"You will though," I said.

"I know," he said almost in a whisper.

"What good would apologizing now do when I might do worse this time around?" he asked.

"Then let him know that in the apology, you're acting like he didn't spend three years wearing the same uniform as you, or that he doesn't know you better than anyone because the two of you are the same in different ways and that's what pisses you off so much," I said heatedly.

"I don't want to say I'm sorry," he whined.

I sighed, "It's not that hard; just go to the hospital and say, I'm sorry for crippling you and for the fact that I'm a sick fuck who needs to go out in the sun more."

He laughed at that saying, "Aren't you supposed to be my partner; "Bad girl Haizawa Shira, where's the cruelty that comes with that title?"

I chuckled, "You know that's more of a reputation thing."

He hummed in agreeance, "Maybe I'll apologize...someday," he said getting up to leave.

"See ya around Shi-chan," he said walking away.

"See you, Hana-chan," I called after him.

He flipped me off and although a year ago I would've laughed at that, I couldn't currently bring myself to crack a smile. "Bad Boy" Hanamiya Makoto (aka truthful flower) wasn't one that let his emotions cloud his judgement, the one time I did see it though, it haunted me. I still loved him dearly, but the memory of hearing Teppei's knees crack and his agony kept me from seeing him the same way.

I sighed and walked back to the gym, where I was instantly bombarded by a tall blonde, "Haizawa-senpai, who was that guy?" he asked.

"Hanamiya Makoto, he's the captain and coach of the Kirisaki Daiichi team," Kasamatsu answered for me.

"He's captain and coach?" Kise asked.

"He's also bad news and I don't think you should be hanging around the likes of him, Shira," Kasamatsu said to me.

"Aww, Yuki, I love that you worry about me," I cooed.

"Shut up," he said, throwing a basketball at me.

I laughed at him as he walked away, then I spied eyebrows and Rima being a very cute new couple, "Ah, young love," I sighed.

"Senpai, you sound like an old woman," Kise said, sitting down next to me.

"You'll understand when you're older," I said.

"Senpai, you're only two years older than me," Kise pouted.

"You're still a fetus," I said.

"Uwaaah, Senpai that's so mean!" Kise whined.

"HEY, who told you to slack off!" Kasamatsu yelled at Kise.

I patted Kise's shoulder, "Don't be too hard on the young one, I was just teaching him about the wonders of love."

Yuki then told me to stop being ridiculous all the time, and Kise went back to practice.

* * *

Instead of going straight home after practice, I made a small detour to a very tall building in Tokyo. Dodging many a white coat adorned person, I finally made my way to a room marked with the name Kiyoshi Teppei. Upon entering I said cheerfully, "Hey there, I don't come bearing gifts due to the fact that I am a broke teenager, but I brought my shining personality."

Kiyoshi looked at me and smiled, saying, "It's nice to see you Shira, how are you?"

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to be asking you?" I said.

"I'm doing okay, I'm probably going to be released in a couple of weeks," he said.

"That's great, are you going to be playing this year?" I asked.

"Yeah, this is the last year I can play," Kiyoshi said.

"Is that okay for your knees?" I asked.

"Not really, but I need to finish things," he said firmly.

I smirked, "You boys and your need for resolution."

"So what've you been up to?" he asked me.

"Due to my behavior and horrible grade in Japanese History, I have been forced into the position of manager for Kaijo's basketball team," I answered.

He grinned, "I guess I'll be seeing you whenever we play against them."

I smiled, "I'll probably be cheering for you guys."

He laughed, then looked out the window saying, "You should go home, it's getting dark and I don't want you on the trains too late, there are a lot of creeps out there."

I stood up, ruffled his hair, and said, "You're such a gentleman Te-chan, worrying about your senpai like this."

I gave him a hug and said goodbye. I exited the hospital, fiddling with the zipper on my jacket because it refused to zip up, and bumped directly into someone's chest. I looked at the person in surprise before saying, "Stalking is a crime you know."

A deep shade of red flashed across the boy's face before he spewed out quickly, "I'm not stalking you, I just got done with a job and I saw you!" Kise insisted, waving his hands in front of him.

I chuckled, "No need to get so flustered blondie, I was just joking."

Kise breathed a sigh of relief before he looked at me seriously saying, "Never mind that senpai, why are you at the hospital? Are you sick?" he said, putting his hands on my shoulders.

"No, I was just visiting someone," I explained.

Another look of relief washed over Kise's face and I could tell he was about to say something, but his phone interrupted him. "Excuse me," he said reaching for the phone in his pocket.

He answered it and immediately flinched at the loudness of the voice. I could tell from where I was standing the person on the other line was really upset. He looked at me saying, "It's Rima, she said she was trying to get ahold of you all afternoon."

"Oh, my phone doesn't work in the hospital," I explained.

He nodded in understanding and I asked, "Why is she so upset?"

"Here," he said handing me his phone.

I heard Rima sniffling on the other end, "Hello, Rima?" I asked.

"Shira…" she replied.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

I could tell that she was crying, "I'm a terrible girlfriend," she finally managed to get out.

"What do you mean by that? Did eyebrows do something? Cause if he did I swear I'll-"

"No, it's not that," she interrupted me, "I just...tried making him chocolates and I almost burned my kitchen down."

"That's it? Just buy him some at a convenience store," I said.

"No, I absolutely cannot do that! It's our first White Day together!" Rima yelled at me.

"Fine," I grumbled, "Meet us at my house in an hour."

I hung up the phone and tried to hand it to Kise, "Put your number in it while you have it," he said.

"I don't really know if I trust you with my number," I said.

He started crying," Waahh, that's so mean senpai."

I sighed and quickly added myself in his contacts before throwing his phone back at him. "Senpai, don't throw it like that, what if I hadn't caught it?" he whined.

"Then you should try to find a sport you're better at, now come on, or we'll miss the next train," I said.

The train was very crowded given the fact that it was rush hour, and my face was shoved up against Kise's chest. I laughed saying, "Blondie, may I say you smell very manly."

He pouted, "I like this cologne."

I laughed louder, "Yeah, but I feel like someone just punched me in the nose with an assortment of flowers."

"It doesn't smell bad," he protested.

"Never said it did, but I don't think this particular scent qualifies as cologne. Can we agree that you're wearing perfume?" I said.

"Don't be mean senpai," he said childishly.

"I'm not, I guess it sort of fits you in a way," I conceded.

He beamed, "Really?"

"Well, let me put it this way, I don't think any other straight male could pull it off," I said.

He looked way too happy after I said that, and I wish I could be half that happy right now, but the hand currently groping me was preventing that. I hate being on the train during rush hour for this reason specifically, everyone's always packed together like sardines and some creepy pervert always tries to take advantage. "Due to the fact that I am unable to move my head, I can't see you, but if you don't remove your hand from my ass in the next two seconds, I am going to rip it off and use it to gouge out your eyeballs," I said loudly.

The hand rapidly moved away and I'm pretty sure the person it belonged to squeezed to the other side of the train. Kise looked at me alarmed, "Was someone touching you?"

"No, I just like to randomly say things like that in public," I said sarcastically.

He frowned, "You should've told me."

"And what were you going to do about it, it's not like anyone can actually move around in here," I said.

"But still, I'm the guy and I'm supposed to protect you," he pouted.

I snorted, "First, I don't subscribe to gender stereotypes like those, and I thought we already established I can take care of myself."

"You think you can, but you can't. What if you were alone in an alley with that guy at three in the morning?" Kise protested.

"Why would I be in an alley at three in the morning?" I asked jokingly.

"That's not the point," Kise said.

I laughed, "Well, I guess you're just going to have to keep stalking me to make sure that doesn't happen."

He cracked a smile and told me I was being mean again.

We got off the train a half an hour later, the walk to my house was nice. The sun had almost completely gone down, but still had enough presence to color the sky a light shade of blue. Although it was towards the end of winter, a chilling wind blew against us as we walked.

When we got there, Rima was waiting on my doorstep, her nose and eyes were still red. "Come on," I said opening the door and walking into the kitchen.

I wrote a list of ingredients on a notepad and gave it to Kise saying, "Get these for me, I'm gonna go clean her up," I said pointing at a near hysterical Rima.

He nodded and left. I looked at Rima, "No offense, but you look a hot mess."

She sniffled, "I know."

I took a glance over her. Her hair was messed up and had dried chocolate in it, her clothes had chocolate over them as well, and her eyes were puffy and bloodshot. "Why don't you go take a shower, I'll show you where the bathroom is," I said guiding her up the stairs.

I grabbed a shirt and pair of shorts from my room on the way and handed them to her at the bathroom door, "Here you can borrow these."

"Thank you," she said quietly.

I went back down the stairs and settled on my couch, deciding to watch tv while I waited for Kise and Rima.

Kise arrived first, slightly out of breath, "You didn't have to run you know," I said, taking the bags from him.

"Where's Rima?" he asked as I sat back down on the couch.

"In the shower, she'll be out in a bit," I said.

He sat down next to me, "What are you watching?"

"A really interesting korean soap opera," I said.

"That seems boring," he said.

Twenty minutes later I was almost dying of laughter. The show Kise had initially labeled as "boring", now enthralled him to the point his eyes were glued to the television. "So, wait, she's not really her aunt, but her mother!?" he exclaimed.

"Yes, indeed," I replied.

He ran his fingers through his hair, "How is that even possible?"

I laughed at him as I turned my head to the stairs, noticing Rima had come down. "Ooh, I love this show," she said when she looked at the television.

I clicked the tv off, and Kise and Rima looked at me as if I had just murdered a dog. "I'll record it," I assured them, "But the chocolate."

A look of horror flashed across Rima's face, "There's no hope, I'm terrible at it."

I walked into the kitchen, "It just takes practice, I'll help you," I said grabbing a bag.

"Senpai, don't we need aprons?" Kise asked me.

I looked at him, "Aprons are for the weak."

"But I don't want to get my uniform dirty," Kise whined.

"Fine," I said handing him one.

"You can't be serious," he said.

I smiled, I had given him a very pink, very ruffly monstrosity that my mother had tried to force upon me in efforts to make me more "feminine". He laughed and then proceeded to put it on. "You are a very secure individual Kise," Rima said.

"Of course I am, this is almost as cute as me," he said, oozing out that fake happiness I hated so much.

I chuckled, "We better get started or we'll be up doing this all night."

* * *

I know that I told Rima I'd "help" her make the chocolates, but she had no idea what she was doing, so it turned into me making them and her and Kise watching. She watched me temper the chocolate saying, "How are you so good at this?"

I continued stirring and said, "My cousin owns a candy shop in Akita, my parents sent me there one summer and she taught me how to make it."

"That sounds really fun, we should go there some time," Rima said.

I poured the chocolate into the mold, "Okay, it just needs to set."

"Where are your parents?" Rima asked suddenly.

I realized then that it was past eleven and anyone normal would probably be asking that, "They're both on business trips right now, so I'm alone."

"You're so mature," she said.

"I'll most likely be living on my own next year anyway," I said.

"You're not staying in Kanagawa?" Rima asked.

"No," I answered.

She yawned, "Hey, do you mind if I sleep over, it's pretty late to go home."

"Sure, you can use the guest bedroom, it's across from my room," I said.

"Okay, by the way, where's Kise?" she asked about the blonde who had disappeared almost an hour ago.

I turned around to see a pair of feet dangling from the side of my couch, "He's in the living room, but I have a feeling he'll be staying too."

Rima hugged me, "Thanks for everything, you really saved me."

"You're welcome," I said as she went up the stairs. I walked into my living room and was confronted with a sleeping Kise, who barely fit on my couch. "Idiot," I said, grabbing a blanket and putting it on him, "You don't just go around falling asleep on people's couches."


	8. Chapter 8

"Senpai."

"Senpai."

"Senpai, please wake up."

I slowly opened opened my eyes to see the interloper intruding upon me and my sleep. "Kise, I am going to kill you...slowly...and painfully," I said murderously.

"But senpai-," he started.

"It is 2:28 AM," I interrupted him.

"I am aware," he said.

"Is the house on fire?" I asked.

"No," he replied.

"Has Rima snapped and gone on a killing spree?" I asked.

"No," he said looking at me weirdly.

"Have you snapped and gone on a killing spree?" I asked.

"No, what does this have to do wi-," he started.

I interrupted him again, "Then I assume that you do not need my assistance to hide any bodies, therefore I do not need to be awake," I said closing my eyes.

"Senpai."

"Senpai."

"What?" I asked aggravated.

"I can't sleep," Kise said.

I groaned, "Why?"

"I'm afraid of the dark," he whispered.

"You've got to be shitting me," I said tiredly.

"When you're a star like me it's only natural to be afraid of the darkness," he delivered with a plastic smoothness.

I grabbed my nearest pillow and threw it at his face, "Say something like that to me again, I dare you."

"You're so mean," Kise said rubbing his head.

"Says the cruel boy who woke me up," I said grumpily.

It was silent for a while after that, but I Kise never left my room and I could feel him staring, trying to see what I was doing through the darkness. Deciding to be kind for the sake of me getting a good night of sleep I said, "Look, you can sleep on the floor in here if you want."

I could just feel him smiling from the side of my bed, "Thank you senpai," he said as he situated himself on my floor.

I then tried to fall back asleep, but it was to no avail because someone on my floor kept shifting and tossing and turning. For my own sanity I quickly grabbed my phone, downloaded a night light app, and set it on my bedside table. It lit the room with a faint glow and from under my covers I heard Kise mumble, "Thank you senpai." After that, I went back to the blissful coma that I was in before.

* * *

"Senpai."

"Senpai."

"Senpai, please wake up."

I slowly opened my eyes and looked at the blonde who was interrupting my sleep. Again. I pulled the covers over my head, "Kise, I don't care if something happened just let me go back to sleep."

Kise poked my cheek saying, "Nothing happened. It's. Time. To. Wake. Up. Sleepyhead."

I swatted his hand away saying, "Touch me again and die."

"Senpai, you're room's really messy," he said, ignoring my death threat.

"Do I look like an organized person to you?" I asked.

"Seriously, I didn't realize it at the time because it was dark, but I basically slept on dirty clothes and trash-ssu," he whined.

I laughed, "That's probably why you have a candy wrapper stuck in your hair."

"It's not funny," he said as he fiddled with his hair.

"It is," I said watching him untangle the wrapper from his hair.

He pouted and then shot back, "Not as funny as you when you're sleeping."

Yes, I am aware of the fact that I drool, snore, and move around in my sleep so much that I wake up with matted hair, but one thing I do not need is a model who just plucked a chocolate wrapper from him hair and still looks ready for a photo shoot telling me that. I narrowed my eyes, not accepting defeat, "Why were you watching me sleep, Kise-_kun_?" I asked, adding emphasis to the suffix in imitation of his fangirls.

The blonde immediately blushed and became flustered, "I wasn't watching you, I just noticed it when I was trying to wake you up!" he insisted.

"Mhmm," I responded with a look of disbelief and disapproving.

"Senpaaaiii," he whined, "You're being mean to me again."  
I ignored him and snuggled under my warm blanket, "Kise, go make me something to eat, I'm hungry," I said grumpily.

"Why me?" he continued to ask mid-whine.

I sighed, "Because I don't feel like moving and Rima can't cook to save her life."

"Don't wanna∼," he said childishly.

I groaned internally, as much as I hated doing stuff like this, my stomach was growling yet my legs refused to move. I moved my pile of blankets slightly out of the way, so only my face was peeking out; I widened my eyes, knitted my eyebrows together, and stuck out my bottom lip saying innocently, "Please Kise, I'm really hungry."

I started quivering my lower lip a little which resulted in Kise turning twenty shades of red and running out the room mumbling, "Okay, senpai."

I receded back into my blankets feeling very proud of myself, "Bad Girl" Shirahime Haizawa still had one of the best sad kitten faces in the business. Although I'll never know if it was the guilt trip that made Kise run out of the room, or the disconcertion that came with seeing me act so juvenile.

Rima came into my room and asked me, "What did you do to Kise?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

She laughed, "He just ran past me muttering something about how he didn't know you could make cute faces like that and that he had to make breakfast."

"I may have used my feminine wiles to get some food," I said.

She chuckled and asked if she could borrow a uniform from me, which wasn't a problem given the fact I had never worn the drab grey thing myself. She looked at me asking, "Don't you ever get in trouble for not wearing the uniform?"

"I think the faculty has decided to choose their battles with me," I replied.

Rima shook her head and smiled at me, then she went across the hall to get dressed. The smell of food cooking enticed me to wrap a comforter around myself and walk to the kitchen, where I had to stop myself from laughing. The blonde basketball player stood at the stove, wearing the pink apron from last night. I shuffled quietly, sneaking up behind him, and poked him in the back saying, "If you like this apron so much you can keep it."

He arched his back when I touched it and yelped, "Senpai, don't sneak up on me me like that!"

I snorted and sat on top of the kitchen table, gathering my comforter around me, "You should really be more aware of your surroundings blondie."

Rima came quietly down the stairs, but burst out laughing when she saw Kise, "Why are you wearing that thing?!"

Kise pouted, "Because I don't want to get my uniform dirty, unlike you I don't have access to a spare one."

"Oooohh, looks like blondie's being a little bit sassy today," I said.

He grumbled quietly at the stove and I couldn't help but think that he looked like an irritable housewife, "Seriously Kise, keep the apron, then I won't ever have to wear it," I said.

He just glared at me and stuck out his tongue, "What's on the menu anyway, Chef Kise?" Rima asked.

"I'm just making eggs," Kise said quietly.

I had abandoned my blanket and decided that if I planned on getting to school on time I should get ready, so I headed up the stairs. "Thank you for making them Kise, they look delicious," I heard Rima say as I made my way into my bathroom.

I yawned and then went through my morning routine of brushing my teeth, washing my face, and since my hair was being particularly nasty, I decided to put it in a ponytail. My favorite pair of black skinny jeans were on the ground, but I absolutely could not find my shirt. I was still looking for it in the bathroom when I heard Kise pouting down the hall, presumably at my closed bedroom door, "Senpai, you made me make you food, the least you could do is eat it. Or at least answer meee," he whined.

I exited the bathroom quietly, and sneaking up on him again, said, "You had the wrong room blondie."

He started at my voice, but then flushed a dark red when he saw me. I presume it's due to the fact I'm in skinny jeans and a bra, "SENPAI, WHAAT a-are you d-o-i-ing!?" he yelled at me, sounding vaguely like Kasamatsu.

"Looking for my shirt, why are you so flustered? It's not like I'm naked," I said.

He blushed an even deeper shade of red, "You shouldn't walk around when you're not decent senpai," he said as he backed up against a wall.

I raised an eyebrow, "Decent? I'm more covered right now than I would be in a bathing suit, and aren't you a model? I would think you'd be used to seeing women half naked by now."

He closed his eyes and turned toward the wall sputtering, "That's not the same thing, this is you, senpai!"

"Your point being?" I asked.

At this point it is my belief that Kise is trying to merge with the wall, "It's just different…" he mumbled.

I chuckled and patted him on the shoulder, which he tensed, "I'll put a shirt on right now, just calm down."

I left him in the hallway and went into my room, where I found my shirt. When I reemerged, he was gone. I went downstairs where Rima and Kise were waiting for me to start eating. I sat down with them, and talked to Rima, while eyeing Kise, who was currently dodging my gaze. After we ate, we headed to school, Kise still acting strangely quiet.

* * *

I am currently sitting in Takeuchi-sensei's classroom, not listening to whatever he's lecturing about. I jumped a little when my phone vibrated in my pocket; I looked at my messages, expecting to see one from one of my parents, who both are in a different timezone. Instead, I opened them to see message after message from Kise.

_1:30 pm: thnk u senpai fr letting me sleep over-ssu _ \ (•◡•) /

_1:31 pm: thnk u fr the night light 2 __（‐＾▽＾‐）_

_1:32 pm: w8, ur nt gnna tell any1 tht im scrd of the dark, rite? __๏__̯͡__๏_

_1:33 pm: senpai?_

_1:34 pm: senpai?_

_1:35 pm: senpai!  
1:36 pm: senpai, please txt me back __(╥__﹏╥__)_

My eyebrow twitched in annoyance at Kise's lack of grammar, overuse of emoticons, and general clinginess in his texts. Takeuchi-sensei didn't like the texts as well, being that his voice boomed to the middle of the classroom, "Is there something you would like to share with us Shira?"

"Yes in fact there is," I said standing up, "Never give your phone number to Kise Ryouta, it's not worth it."

I sat back down, and Takeuchi-sensei continued teaching, seemingly understanding what had happened.

When the bell rang for lunch, Rima began pacing around the classroom, clutching the box of chocolates she had delicately wrapped this morning. "Is my hair okay, do I look cute enough?" Rima asked Kasamatsu and I as she frantically smoothed down her hair.

"You look fine," I said waving my hand at her.

"You're a real comfort," she said sarcastically.

I was about to reply when Hayakawa walked in, "Hi," Rima said quickly.

"Hi," Hayakawa nervously replied.

"Ahh, young love," I said wistfully.

"Kise's right, you do sound like an old woman," Yuki said.

"Shhh," I hushed him.

A very prominent blush was on both of their faces; Rima held out the box, "These are for you; I suck at cooking, so Shira made them, but I wrapped them…" she said quickly.

He took the box and said loudly, "I (r)ike the w(l)apping!"

Still trying to figure out how he managed to make that L sound in wrapping, I was taken out of my thoughts when a group of girls came into the classroom, clutching their own boxes of chocolate.

They approached Kasamatsu, who literally ran away from them. They ran after him, I guess if they were the type of girls to like him then they wouldn't be discourage so easily. I chuckled, but then stopped when I thought I heard a stampede of elephants, except the elephants sounded like screaming teenage girls.

The door swung open, revealing an out of breath Kise, who immediately struggled to push the door closed. One desperate girl threw her box of chocolates into the classroom, which I had to dodge to keep it from hitting me in the head. Kise, finally managing to close the door, sat down next to me saying, "Sorry..I'm late..fangirls."

I threw the chocolate that almost hit me in the head at him saying, "Don't text me like that again, I got in trouble with sadist-sensei."

He rubbed his head, "Sorry senpai."

All of a sudden, outside the classroom got very quiet. There was a small knock on the door, which everyone looked at me to answer, "Why does it have to be me?" I asked.

"Cause you're the only one who can scare Kise's fangirls away. Or beat them away. Whatever works," Rima answered.

I sighed, getting up from my seat. Surprisingly, when I opened the door, a pair of arms wrapped around my waist and I knew who it was from the tufts of pink hair clinging to my shirt. I let Sakura, who was carrying a large bag, into the classroom. She sat down next to me, "So Sakura, what brings you here?" I asked.

She handed me the bag, "Presents for White day from your fan club of course."

I looked inside the bag, instead of chocolates, there were a variety of cds and dvds from my favorite bands and shows, clothes, and jewelry. "This is all my favorite stuff, how…?"

I asked.

She turned her nose up, "I'm the president of your fan club, it's my business to know everything about you."  
I laughed faintly, "That's not creepy at all."

She looked at me seriously, "Shira senpai, given your fan base, I'd say more than half of that is stolen, so don't try to return any of it."

"Okay then," I said.

The rest of lunch was very awkward. Rima and Hayakawa were off being lovey dovey in a corner of the classroom, Kise was glaring at Sakura, who was smiling at me and ignoring him. Surprise, Surprise, sadist sensei wasn't the most popular teacher on campus, so there were no other students in the classroom to ease the tension with white noise. I was relieved when the bell rang, "I wish I didn't have practice today-ssu," Kise pouted.

I looked at him and agreed, "You'd think Takeuchi-sensei would give you guys the day off in the name of love."

He nodded, "And I'm reealllyyy hungry," he whined.

I chuckled, "Go ahead of me, I still have to get my stuff together and he's going to yell at you if you're late."

He followed my suggestion, I slowly packed up my stuff and was about to go, when Sakura grabbed my elbow. "Umm...Shira senpai, I made these for you," she said handing me a box.

"Thanks," I said unwrapping the box and putting a chocolate into my mouth. "These are good, are they cherry filled?" I asked her while I chewed.

Her eyes lit up, "Mmhmm, I'm really glad you like them senpai."

I ruffled her hair, "You're a pretty good kid, I almost regret punching you, I'd love to talk to you some more, but if I don't make my entrance in the gym in the next five minutes I'm going to be beheaded by Takeuchi-sensei."

I left her and made my way to the gym. I passed by a cart full of sandwiches that were being put back into the cafeteria, and with all the stealth that comes with practice, discreetly took one and held it under my history textbook.

When I entered the gym, I earned a hostile stare from sadist senpai, "I'm sorry I'm late, but I had to dig my way through _someone's _groupies," I lied, winking at Kise.

Kise blushed and looked away from me, "Kise, you've been acting strange all day, have your fangirls been that bad? I noticed that your uniform was wrinkled as well," Nakamura asked.

I slung my arm around Kise's neck, "That would be due to the passionate night Kise and I spent together," I joked.

Rima laughed from across the gym, "You're being mean again senpai," Kise said softly.

"Is that any way to talk to the person who just got you lunch," I said, waving the sandwich in front of him.

Kise's eyes widened, "I thought you didn't like spending money on food."

"I didn't," I said.

"Senpai, did you steal this?" Kise asked me.

"It's not stealing if you don't get caught, so shhhh," I said.

"That's not right senpai," he said innocently.

"I could also argue that one lonely ear piercing is not right either, and it might be sending mixed signals to the world," I replied.

"I don't want to get the other one done, it hurt too much last time-ssu," Kise said, then looking at my heavily pierced ears asked, "How did you stand getting all those?"

I sighed, remember the night I had gone with Haizaki to get them done, and how he had said that I'd chicken out, so I got nine to spite him. Two on each of the lobes, and three cartilage on one side and two on the other. "Anger is a good pain inhibitor," I answered, even though I think I confused him.

His face suddenly looked as if he was in deep thought, "Wait, what did you mean when you said I was sending mixed signals?"

I laughed and picked up a copy of _Zunon Boy,_ which always seemed to be lying around and said, "In this interview it says your type of girl is one who won't tie you down, but that earring says I don't like girls that way."

Kise immediately got flustered, "Senpai, stop saying things like that!"

"Stop acting weird, it's annoying," Kasamatsu said.

"I'm not being weird, Haizawa senpai is the one saying strange things!" Kise insisted.

"No, Shira's being inappropriate as always, you're the one who's acting different," Kasamatsu reaffirmed.

"I'm not acting different, am I?" Kise asked.

I laughed, "He just said you were, blondie."

"Stop calling me that," he pouted.

"Now that I know it bothers you, I'll never stop," I said.

* * *

_Hello lovely readers, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's favorited and/or followed this and anybody who takes time out to read it. As well as the two _

_people who left nice reviews, especially Batman78, I hadn't considered that Shira might have a different reaction to Kise when he's in perfect copy mode, and I don't _

_think it will necessarily change her thoughts on him, but rather tie into Shira accepting his coldness and heartlessness that he shows during games as his true _

_personality over his happy go lucky persona._


	9. Chapter 9

I stretched my arms, holding them up in the air. It was halfway through May, and we had decided to eat lunch outside to celebrate the beautiful weather. I sighed, "It's so nice and warm, I feel like my bones are defrosting," I said.

"You sound like an old woman," Kise and Kasamatsu said in unison.

"If you keep scowling like that, you're going to look like an old woman as much as I sound like one," I spat back at Kasamatsu.

He was about to yell at me when Rima and Hayakawa came to join us, "Hey you guys," she said happily.

I nodded at her, "Hey."

"Shira, are you going to the festival tomorrow?" Rima asked me.

"In Tokyo?" I asked her.

She nodded, "I don't know, it seems like a bother," I said.

She pouted, "Come on, it'll be fun, even Kasamatsu is going."

"Is it that you need a place to stay the night, because I'm staying with my manager and I'm sure you can spend the night as well-ssu," Kise said.

I thought for a moment and then responded, "Nah, blondie, I have a place to stay."

"So you're going then?" Rima asked.

"I guess so," I mumbled.

"Well, don't look too happy about it," Rima said.

"It's just, nevermind," I muttered.

I hadn't gone to a festival without Shogo in years, and I really wanted him to come with me. The only thing that stopped me from inviting him was a yellow headed idiot that I'm pretty sure Shogo would punch as soon as he saw him. Plus, even though I really liked this group of people, I had only known them for about two months, hence my hesitation. I decided however, to make the best of it.

* * *

I looked at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a sky blue yukata, wooden sandals, and had my hair up. I looked out the window, the sky was just about black and it was almost the time I was supposed to meet up with everyone. I clattered down the stairs and confronted the person who was studying in the living room, "Honestly, do I look okay?" I asked him.

Haizaki-nii (the person I was staying with) looked at me saying, "You look beautiful Shira."

"You're just saying that, are you sure you can't come?" I asked.

He smiled at me, "I'm sorry, I have a big test tomorrow, but I got you a present to make up for it, close your eyes."

I obliged and felt Haizaki-nii take my left leg and fasten something around it, "Okay, open them."

I opened my eyes and looked down at my ankle, which now had a deep blue ankle bracelet around it, "Do you like it?" he asked.

I gave him a hug, "Yes, very much."

He ruffled my hair, "You should go soon, before you're late."

"You're right," I said, rushing out the door.

I walked for about ten minutes until I saw a yellow head sticking out above the crowd. I snuck up behind him, and poked him in the back. "Senpai, that's not funny!' he shouted as he turned around to look at me.

I chuckled, "It is to me."

He pouted, "Senpai's being mean to me again."

I ignored him and looked around asking, "Where's the others?"

"They're not here yet," Kise said.

"How long have you been waiting?" I asked.

"I got excited and got here twenty minutes ago," Kise said quietly.

I clucked my tongue, "The model was early and the delinquent was on time, I feel like if anyone was late it should've been us."

We waited for ten minutes, until my stomach started growling and I took Kise's hand saying, "I'm hungry let's go get something to eat."

"But what about the others?" Kise protested as I dragged him through the street.

"They have cell phones, they can find us when they get here," I said, as I found a ramen stall.

I ordered a bowl and turned to Kise, "Did you want something?"

"What are you having?" he asked me.

"I think I'll have the unagi ramen bowl," I said to Kise and the guy taking our order.

Kise wrinkled his nose, "You like eel?" he asked me.

"Yes, you don't?" I questioned him back.

"A bone got stuck in my throat once when I was a kid," Kise muttered.

"And that's your reasoning for disliking it?" I said in disbelief.

"It was very traumatic," Kise said defensively.

"Hey, he'll have the same as me," I said to the guy, who nodded and went to place the order.

"What are you doing senpai?" Kise asked me alarmingly.

I looked at him seriously, "It's time to grow up blondie."

He whined at me until the food came, then he proceeded to pick at the bowl, "Don't think I don't see you eating around it," I said, turning towards him.

He frowned, I stared at him until he took a bite out of the eel. He chewed quickly and then swallowed, looking at me with widened eyes, and then started coughing.

I slapped him on the back a couple of times saying, "You alright blondie?"

He coughed a couple more times and spit out a small bone onto the counter. I was expecting him to be mad at me for making him eat it, but instead he clung onto me, letting out a small whimper. I patted his head awkwardly saying, "There, there."

I gently peeled him off of me and went to switch our bowls saying, "Kid, I stand corrected. The universe is trying to kill you with unagi. I already ate the eel in mine, so have this and I'll eat yours."

He sniffed, "Thank you senapi-ssu."

It was that moment when my phone rang, I picked it up saying, "Hello?"

"Where are you?" Rima's voice sounded on the other side.

"You're all late by the way, and we're on the first ramen stall you'll come across if you go left," I said.

"Okay, we'll be there in a couple of minutes," she said before hanging up.

When they arrived, I glanced over them. Hayakawa and Rima were in matching dark grey yukatas, Kasamatsu wasn't dressed up (shocker), and I looked back at Kise in his red yukata. "Well, aren't you two adorable," I said to the couple.

Rima blushed embarrassed, "Sorry we were so late, we were trying to convince Kasamatsu to wear a yukata for half an hour."

I turned to the steel blue eyed male, who had his arms crossed and a grumpy look on his face, "I think it's for the best, Yuki looks best when he's being himself," I said, not being able to picture him in anything that wasn't hyper masculine.

"So what have you two been up to?" Rima asked.

"Senpai tried to kill me," Kise answered.

"The universe tried to kill him," I corrected.

"The universe didn't force me to eat unagi," Kise said, glancing at me sideways.

I turned to him and huffed, "You've had a sudden change of heart, weren't you the one who was just clinging to me in fear?"

Rima chuckled, "Don't tell me you're becoming a tsundere Kise."

"And we all thought Midorima was the ultimate tsundere," I said walking out of the stall.

"Don't compare me to Midorimacchi!" Kise shouted as he followed me out.

I looked at him with narrowed eyes and said coldly, "You don't even compare to mommy, not by a good three inches," and changing my tone with a sparkle in my eye, "And, those back muscles man, even God himself doesn't have back muscles that glorious."

I stared off into space, picturing those perfectly sculpted mounds of flesh until Rima waved her hand in front me saying, "Earth to Shira, you're making Kise very jealous right now."

I snapped out of my muscular stupor and looked at the blushing and pouting blonde, "I have great back muscles too senpai!" he exclaimed as he shrugged his yukata off his shoulders.

Cue a crowd of screaming fangirls jumping all over him in his half naked glory. I started walking off in the opposite direction when Rima said, "Wait Shira, we can't just leave him."

I held my phone out, "He just texted me telling us to go on ahead, and that he'll try and catch up with us later."

Rima linked arms with Hayakawa and walked down the street, leaving Kasamatsu and I trailing behind them. We were walking for a while when Kasamatsu suddenly said to me, "Just so you know Shira, I don't like you."

I gave him a questioning look before he rephrased, "Not like that, I do like you, I think you're pretty cool, but I don't like you in a romantic way."

I turned away from him, "I knew that Yuki."

"I was just making sure, you know, because whenever something like this happens, girls always accuse me of using Kise to get to them," Kasamatsu explained.

"Then they obviously don't know you, you're not that kind of man, and you're also scared shitless of girls," I said.

"Crap," he said suddenly.

"What?" I asked looking at him.

He pointed straight ahead, "Although we have established no romance, I think Rima and Hayakawa have their own plans."  
I looked where he was pointing, the couple had led us to a boat ride for couples, Rima looked at us saying, "Come on you guys."

Both Kasamatsu and I sighed as we got on a boat together and started staring at each other awkwardly. I occasionally turned my head to the boat Rima and Hayakawa were on, at least they were having a good time.

That's pretty much how the next couple of hours went, Rima and Hayakawa dragged us to all the couple events and Kasamatsu and I endured the comments about how we were such a great couple. That was until we came across a stall with a goldfish scooping game, and Kasamatsu and Hayakawa got into a very intense competition to see who could scoop the most goldfish.

It didn't matter in the end, because they both ended up getting three. Kasamatsu rubbed his head saying, "What should we do, give them back?"

"No, you can't do that, those goldfish expect to go home with someone, you'll hurt their feelings!" Rima said.

I'm pretty sure we were all looking at her like she was crazy, but no one said anything because she said it with such conviction, she even had small tears at the corner of her eyes. I sighed saying, "I have a pond in my backyard, I could take them."

That is how I ended up here. Rima and Hayakawa had gone into another couple maze, and Kasamatsu was preoccupied with a guitar that he wanted to buy. I told him that it was fine if he left me, but that is how I ended up like this. At a festival. Alone. Carrying six bags of fish. I'm now fish lady, which I think is a step down from cat lady.

I stood next to a stall, watching the lights of the ferris wheel go around in a huge circle. "Senpai?" I heard a voice ask.

I looked to my right, "Oh hey blondie."

"Senpai, I told you to stop calling me that," Kise whined.

I ignored him, "So you were finally able to shake your fangirls?"

"Yeah, I had to play a bunch of games and get them all gifts though," he said tiredly.

"Sounds bothersome," I said.

He glared at me slightly, before noticing all the goldfish I was carrying, "Did Kasamatsu senpai and Hayakawa get those for you?" he asked.

I looked down at them, "Yeah."

He puffed out his cheeks, "That's not fair."

I looked at him strangely, "What's unfair?"

"They stole my gift!" Kise shouted.

I was about to ask him what the hell he was talking about when he shoved a bag in my face, "It doesn't matter, mine's way better!"

I took the bag in my hand, swimming slowly around in the water was a yellow goldfish, "Thank you Kise, it's really pretty," I said.

A blush flashed across his face before he said quickly, "But not as pretty as me right?"

I looked at him with a frown, "Please don't ruin it with your fakeness."

He laughed awkwardly before quickly changing the subject asking, "What were you doing by yourself?"

I looked up at the moving lights, "Thinking about how I've never been on a ferris wheel before," I answered.

Kise's face lit up as he pulled my hand, "Kise, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Going to the ferris wheel!" Kise said excitedly as he dragged me away.

I admit that it wasn't the most exhilarating ride, but I liked being so high up. I heard a camera shutter, and looked at Kise, who had his phone in front of him. "What are you doing?" I asked.

He smiled, "Saving the memory of senpai's first ferris wheel ride forever∼."

"You're two," I said, looking out at the night sky.

"What are you going to name them?" Kise asked me, nodding at the goldfish.

"I'm not going to name them," I said plainly.

"You have to at least name mine," Kise whined, pulling on my shoulder.

I sighed in defeat, "Fine, I'll name it," I said looking at the fish.

"Hmmmm," I hummed as Kise watched me intently.

"I got it," I said.

"What is it?" he asked.

I looked at him, "Kise Jr."

Kise's whole face turned red, "Why?" he stuttered.

I cocked my head, "You're the one who gave him to me, he's yellow, and he's the seventh goldfish I've received tonight."

Kise blushed an even deeper red when I mentioned his jersey number, "Maybe I can get him a jersey with my number on it!" he said excitedly.

"Fish don't wear clothes," I said.

"Will you at least bring him to see his papa's games?" Kise asked.

I facepalmed, "Blondie, fish don't work that way."

"But I'm sure he'll be there in spirit," I said to the now depressed male next to me.

"You think so?" Kise asked as he perked up.

"Definitely," I said to humor him.

After the ride, Kise and I met back up with everyone. Rima yawned, "It's getting late, I think we should all go."

Kasamatsu nodded in agreement, then Kise proceeded to drag me away saying, "I'll take senpai home!"

"Kise," I said.

"Hmm?" he replied.

"You're going the wrong way," I said.

He blinked at me a few times before blushing, and then dragging me the other way. "These shoes are hurting my feet really bad," I muttered after we had been walking a while.

"Do you want me to carry you?" Kise offered.

Never one to refuse a free ride, I climbed onto Kise's back, "That's a pretty anklet," Kise commented, looking at my leg.

"Thanks, it was a present from a friend," I said.

Kise carried me up to Haizaki-nii's apartment, where I crept in quietly, expecting him to be asleep. Instead, I was confronted with a man studying as hard as he was when I left, "Seriously Haizaki-nii, you're such a good student."

He looked at me and smiled, "You're back, did you have fun?"

"Yep, do you have a place for these guys tonight?" I asked, holding the goldfish up.

He laughed, "Yes in fact, I have a wonderful toilet bowl where we can send them back home."

"I'm serious," I said.

He chuckled, " I have a bucket somewhere," he said, getting up.

I sat on the couch, which was very comfortable, and the tiredness attacked me. I closed my eyes and started to slowly drift to sleep. I heard Haizaki-nii come in and ruffle my hair saying, "Already asleep, huh?"

I felt him take the goldfish out of my hands, pick me up, and walk up the stairs before I completely passed out.

* * *

"SENPAI!"

It had been a couple of days since the festival, and I was outside, gardening, when I heard the blonde idiot's voice. "I'M BACK HERE BLONDIE!" I shouted.

I heard the gate open and close, before I heard a giggle, followed by Kise saying, "Senpai, you really are an old woman."

I glared at him, "I'm not in the mood Kise."

I only worked in the garden when I was extremely upset, it was something my grandmother used to do to calm me down when I was little. In this case, I had just been in a fistfight with Shogo's ex, who brought a little posse to try and beat me up. Key word: try.

Sensing I was not to be messed with right now, Kise sat next to me and silently watched what I was doing. That was until he screamed and started clinging to me, and I was treated again to one of Kise's fears. "Senpai, save me!" he said, nuzzling into my side.

"From what?" I said, annoyed.

"That," he said, pointing at a worm.

"The worm?" I asked.

"It's so disgusting!" he yelled, burrowing further in between my arm and side.

"Well I'm sure they find you disgusting too, then again, maybe not, because they're worms and not judgemental assholes," I said, suddenly really defensive of worms.

"Senpai's being mean to me again," he said.

I then flicked a worm at his face, to which he responded by squealing and jumping away from me. He landed next to the pond, which peaked his interest, "Ahh, the reason why I came here in the first place."

He scanned the pond and then looked at me asking, "Where's Kise Jr?"

I took off the gloves I was wearing and said, "He's in the house, with my other pet fish."

I led Kise inside the house and into the living room, where the fish resided. There was Kise Jr. and my other fish that I've had for four years.

"Who's this?" Kise asked pointing to her.

"That's Shira Jr.," I replied.

"Ehh, senpai, you have a fish named after you too?!" Kise shouted.

I nodded, and thought about when I had gotten Shira Jr. Shogo and I had gone to a festival in Shizuoka a couple years back and I was so upset that my parents wouldn't let me have a dog, so he spent all his money trying to get me that fish. When he finally got it, he handed it to me saying in a very tsundere like way, "Here, it looks like you so I thought you should have it."

It's true, Shira Jr. is black with light blue eyes, and Shogo named her after me because of it. I put Kise Jr. in the bowl with her so she wouldn't be alone anymore. I turned to Kise saying, "Yeah, my friend got it for me, and he was the one who named it."

Kise frowned saying, "What's with this friend who buys you stuff, acting like he's your boyfriend or something…" Kise mumbled.

I smirked at him, "You're acting like a jealous boyfriend right now blondie."

He immediately blushed, sputtering, "Am not."

I walked back into the garden saying, "Then stop blushing when I say things like that."

"I am not blushing!" Kise shouted after me.

"If you don't stop being loud, I'm going to throw another worm at you," I threatened.

"Waah, senpai, that's so mean," he whined back.


	10. Chapter 10

I entered the gym very irritated, covered in blood and dirt, and my cheek was stinging. "Shira, you're late," Takeuchi-sensei said as he glared at me.

I glared back at him saying, "I'm only late because of _someone's_ flesh eating fangirls. Unless you want to go out there and tell them my being manager is a punishment, don't comment on my punctuality."

Sensei left me alone after that, but arms belonging to an annoying blonde wrapped around me and a face started nuzzling mine as he said, "Senpai∼, I'm sorry that my fangirls are causing you trouble. I feel so bad that I almost can't forgive myself."

"I can see you're all broken up about it," I said as I pushed him off of me.

It was at that moment that a faint shout could be heard from outside the gym, "You can't have him Haizawa," it sounded.

My eyebrow twitched and I shouted back, "I DON'T WANT HIM!"

Takeuchi-sensei growled in irritation yelling, "Shira, you're causing a scene, Kise has a job right now and I want you to go with him."

"I'm causing a scene?!" I asked him in disbelief as Kise grabbed my hand saying, "Let's go senpai."

I wasn't any less aggravated when we exited the gym however, since there was a girl giving me a dirty look, who I was sure was the one shouting just now. I was a little bit surprised when Kise jumped in saying, "Please don't pick on senpai anymore, she has a temper."

That last bit at the end pissed me off more than the fangirls ever did and I interrupted him saying to the girl, "No, please keep bothering me; I'm begging you. That way I won't feel bad when I punch you in the face so hard your teeth get lodged in that tiny brain of yours."

Cue Kise dragging me away yet again and telling me to calm down, something which I couldn't do until we were in a train for over forty minutes. I looked over at Kise asking, "Where are we going anyway?"

"Tokyo," he answered.

I sighed, "Why do we always end up in Tokyo?"

Kise smiled, "Maybe it's senpai and I's special place."

I looked at him and asked, "Do you ever find blondie, that some of the words that come out of your mouth make people want to slap you?"

"That's mean senpai," he pouted.

"I'm mean," I said.

"You're not mean, senpai," Kise said seriously.

I laughed, "You seem to have an inflated opinion of me."

"That's not true," Kise whined.

"Stop whining, we have to get off now," I said.

"I'm so happy senpai's going to see me model for the first time," Kise said excitedly.

"Yay, I can't wait," I said sarcastically.

I was then led to a building and soon found myself standing backstage during a photoshoot. I was next to Kise, who was sitting in a chair getting his makeup done. I was contently scrolling through pictures on my phone when someone poked my cheek and I froze, "Ryota is this your girlfriend? What happened to her cheek? I can cover that up and do your makeup," a woman said to me.

Kise almost jumped out of his chair as he exclaimed, "Nooo, senpai's perfect just like this!"

The woman, who I believe to be a makeup artist, seemed surprised by his outburst and slowly backed away from me. Kise then began to model and I went back to my phone. About five minutes later I heard Kise whine at me, "Senpai, I brought you here to watch me, not your phone-ssu."

"You brought me here because sadist sensei told you to," I replied.

He continued to whine until I gave up and started paying attention to him. I looked on silently until I got an idea, and a devilish grin appeared on my face as I started taking pictures of Kise with my phone and sending them to a certain someone. Kise noticed and immediately blushed asking, "Senpai, what are you doing?"

"I'm using your pictures to torture someone who refused to make a ruckus," I responded.

"What? Never mind, I don't care just stop," Kise said, shutting his eyes.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because it's embarrassing!" he answered.

I snorted, "You have like five cameras other than mine pointed at you right now."

He pouted, "It's because it's you that it's embarrassing!"

I sighed, "First you tell me to pay attention to you, now it's too much, I can't ever win with you."

Kise just looked frowned and looked away from me. "Fine, I'll stop," I conceded, mostly because the photographer was starting to glare at me.

It was all good though, the barrage of angry text messages I was getting from Shogo were proof that I had accomplished what I needed to do. Although, he still refused to make a ruckus so I wouldn't have to be manager.

* * *

The shoot was over a couple of hours later, and Kise and I were slowly walking towards the train station. "So what did you think of my modeling?" Kise asked.

I shrugged, "It was okay."

"Just okay?" Kise said.

"Well, it's modeling, all you have to do is stand there and be pretty," I said.

Kise blushed and scratched his cheek, asking shyly, "You think I'm pretty senpai?"

"Of course, you're very handsome and cute, blondie," I responded.

Kise blushed a deeper red, "It's your personality that needs work," I added onto the end.

He did a small twirl, singing, "But senpai finds me attractive∼."

I looked at him annoyed, "But I don't care that you're attractive."

He pouted, "Don't be a killjoy-ssu."

I sighed, and continued walking until something caught my attention. We were passing by a park, and a group of what seemed to be ten year old boys were surrounding and teasing a girl. I lost it when one of them pulled her hair, and made my way over to them, "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" I asked angrily.

One of them turned to me and said, "Huh? Who are you?"

Another one chimed in saying, "Yeah, get lost."

I stood there for a second, almost losing it due to their laughable attempt at being tough, "Didn't you hear us, leave!" one yelled at me and kicked my ankle.

I flicked my thumb nail against my index finger in irritation as I heard Kise say behind me in a nervous tone, "Now senpai, don't do anything crazy-ssu."

"Hold this," I said, throwing my bag at Kise.

I cracked my right wrist and then grabbed the ankle kicker by the hair, pulling him off the ground, and said scarily, "Look twerp, I'm no longer interested in what you think you're doing, now scram," I said dropping him on the ground.

They ran away crying and I think I heard one of them scream for his mom. Kise came up from behind me, "Beating up ten year olds, are you proud of yourself senpai?"

I crossed my arms, "It had to be done, plus, I taught them a lesson about running your mouth, what if I was a psycho with a gun?"

"But senpai, you run your mouth all the time," Kise said.

"Yeah, but I can take care of myself," I said.

Kise frowned at me, but our conversation was interrupted by the girl who I had saved, "Thank you," she said through her tears.

"No problem kid, are your parents around here?" I asked her.

The girl, who looked about ten herself, with black hair and green eyes which filled with tears at my question cried, "My big brother, he told me not to run off, but I didn't listen."

The girl was giving herself a severe case of the hiccups, so I rubbed her back saying, "Don't worry, we'll help you find him, what does he look like?" I asked her.

She sniffed, "He's really tall, green hair and eyes, and he has glasses."

I blinked at her a couple of times before saying, "This might be just a hunch, but is your brother's name Midorima?"

She sniffed again, "Yeah, are you a friend of his?"

"Ehh, that's Midorimacchi's little sister?!" Kise yelled.

I took the girls hand and started walking through the park, answering her question I said, "Yeah, we know your brother."

Finding Midorima was not a problem, given the fact that finding a 6"5, green haired, and glasses wearing Japanese teenager was not that hard. "Shin-nii!" the girl yelled as she jumped onto his back.

He looked at her sternly, "Where have you been, I told you not to run off."

"Mommy," I said as I gave him a hug.

"What are you doing here Shira?" he said.

"Is that any way to speak to the person who just saved your little sister from a group of juvenile delinquents?" I asked.

He glanced back at her, "What kind of trouble did you get into?"

She sniffed saying, "I'm sorry Shin-nii, I won't ever go anywhere without you again."

I laughed when Midorima grumbled grumpily, but stopped when an old woman walked by us and commented, "I say, you two make a very good couple, and your daughter is adorable."

She walked away before any of us could deny what she had said. Midorima blushed and mumbled how preposterous the idea was and I just laughed. "Senpai, why didn't you say anything to that woman?" Kise pouted.

"About what?" I asked, still laughing.

"About being Midorimacchi's wife!" Kise said.

"She walked away before I could say anything, what does it matter anyway, I don't know her, but I am going to blame mommy's height for her thinking we were old enough to have a ten year old," I said.

Midorima pushed up his glasses, "If it was anything, it's that you never wear your school uniform."

"You still should've corrected her senpai," Kise whined.

"Why? If I recall, you didn't correct that makeup artist when she thought I was your girlfriend," I replied.

Kise blushed, "That's different."

"How?" I asked.

"I agree with that woman, I like you; you and Shin-nii should get married," Midorima's little sister said.

Midorima started stuttering, I started laughing, and Kise looked horrified. "No," was all the blonde could spit out.

Midorima's little sister cocked her head to the side asking, "Why?"

Kise grabbed me, "Because she's _my_ manager!"

I was still laughing at this point, "What does that have to do with anything?"

He pouted, "I'm not about to have another basketball player from another team steal you away."

I laughed, "So if mommy quit the basketball team right now and then asked for my hand in marriage, we'd have your consent?"

Kise blushed in frustration, "That's not what I meant and you know it!"

"I would never give up basketball for a woman, let alone you Shira, nanodayo," Midorima interjected.

"No need to get grumpy mommy, this chat was nice, but blondie and I must be leaving," I said, pulling Kise away.

Ten minutes later I was stuck in a train with Kise. During rush hour. Again. "Smelling as manly as ever," I commented.

"I would never change my cologne, especially after senpai complimented me on it∼," Kise replied happily.

"First off, we agreed to call it perfume, and I don't remember complimenting it," I said.

He looked at me, "You said it fits me-ssu."

"Yeah well, given the right situation, bunny ears and lingerie could fit you, but I wouldn't call that a compliment," I replied.

Kise blushed, whispering, "Senpai, don't say those type of things in public!"

I smirked, "So it'd be okay for me to say if we were alone?"

Kise pouted, "Stop twisting my words-ssu."

I chuckled, before being jolted off my feet by the train. Now, a quick geography lesson of our current transportation; a fangirl had gotten out of her seat and insisted that Kise sit down, which led me to stand in front of where he was sitting. Our lovely driver today, decided to make one of the harshest right turns I've ever experienced, which thrust everyone to the left and left me in this situation.

My current situation being, sitting in Kise's lap, unable to get up because the other passengers had rearranged themselves so my spot was no longer existent. "Sorry, blondie, you're going to have to deal with this until we get to Kanagawa."

"It's okay senpai-ssu," his overly happy voice sounded in my ear as his hands wrapped around my waist.

"Kise...what are you doing?" I asked.

"Holding you steady," he replied.

"I don't need to be held steady, get them off. Now," I said, pulling his hands away from my midsection.

"But senpai, if the train jerks again you're going to fall onto someone," he said.

He moved his hands across my waist back to where they were before, eliciting a giggle and a spasm of my legs. "Senpai could it be…" he said curiously, before he gently dug his fingers into my sides.

This caused me to giggle and spasm more as Kise laughed saying, "Senpai, you're really ticklish."

"Please-blondie...h-aave mercy on my...soul," I said in between giggles.

He stopped after that and I said angrily, "That was a crime that can never be forgiven and just so you know, I'm glaring at you right now, you just can't see it."

"C'mon senpai, you can't stay mad at this adorable face," Kise said.

"I can't see your face," I said plainly.

"You're very cute when you're being tickled senpai∼," Kise said playfully.

"Cute? I'm not cute? I am evil, violence personified. Darkness itself fears me-" I started.

Kise interrupted, "If I buy you ice cream will you forgive me, senpai?"

I was quiet for a moment, "Perhaps."

I could feel the blonde smiling from the back of me as he said, "Great, I know this really good ice cream shop by the station!"

When we did get to the shop, we were there for a good twenty minutes due to my indecision on which flavor to get, "Hmm, chocolate chip? Cookie dough? Strawberry?" I muttered to myself.

"Hurry up senpai," Kise whined at me.

"I know, in honor of mommy I will get mint chip," I said to the cashier, who must've thought I was crazy.

"What'd you get blondie?" I asked him.

"Vanilla," he replied.

"Just like your personality," I quickly added on.

"Senpai," he pouted.

"I know, I know, I'm being mean," I said as I was handed an ice cream cone.

We exited the shop and wound up walking to my house, "Well, I guess this is goodbye," I said awkwardly as Kise lingered.

He looked up at my house saying, "That soap opera's on tonight isn't it?"

"Don't try and say that all nonchalant," I said to him.

He looked at me with pursed lips and I sighed, asking, "Blondie, do you want to watch the soap?"

He nodded rapidly, "And you can't do this at your own house because…?" I asked.

"My sisters will make fun of me," he whined.

"Are you asking to watch it at my place?" I asked.

He looked at me with fake tears in his eyes, "Uhh-huh."

"Fine, because I am such a loving, tender, and kind person, I will let you," I said walking into my house.

Kise poked his head in, "Are your parents gone again?"

"Yeah, they're both somewhere in Europe right now," I said, flipping on the tv.

I smirked as he sat down next to me on the couch, "Why do you ask, you don't have any impure motives, do you?"

Kise blushed and inched away from me, "Of course not!"

"Kidding," I said to the seemingly humorless blonde.

We watched the show for the next hour, me in silence, Kise reacting to every little thing that happened in the story. The show was about to end when I felt Kise's head drop on my shoulder, slide down into my lap, and then he began to snore softly.

I carefully moved his head from my lap and onto the couch. Standing up, I, being the slightly stronger than the average female, was able to move him into a more comfortable position. As I put a blanket over him I felt a strong sense of déjà vu, before remembering this was not the first time Kise fell asleep on my couch.

I made sure all doors were locked, lights were out, and headed up the stairs. Before I went to sleep, in preparation for the inevitable, I turned on the night light app I had previously downloaded on my phone and set it on my nightstand.

* * *

"Senpai."

I slowly opened my eyes to see the brightness of the blonde and the morning sun and immediately receded into my blankets. "Senpai, it's time to wake up," he stated.

"No," I said.

"Yes," he said.

"Don't want to," I grumbled.

"You have to-ssu," he replied.

I was traveling further into my blankets when I felt a hand wrap around my waist and pull me from them, "Nooo, bed-chan," I groaned as I was set on my floor.

Noticing that my floor was bare, I looked around my room, "Kise...what happened?"

"I didn't want to sleep on trash again, so I cleaned your room," Kise said with a smile.

I laid down on the ground, petting my floor, and said sadly, "I miss my clutter."

Kise laughed at me, "Senpai, we have to get to school soon."

I got up, "I know, I know," I said, taking off my pajama shorts.

"Senpai, don't undress in front of me," Kise sputtered.

"Don't you have older sisters, shouldn't you be used to this?" I asked him.

"I do, but it's different-" Kise started.

"Because it's you senpai-ssu," I finished for him as I put on my jeans, "What does that even mean?" I asked as I searched for a shirt.

Kise responded with silence and I said jokingly, "Are you like this with all your senpais, I can't imagine how much fun you are in the locker room."

"Don't make fun of me," Kise said quietly.

I looked at him and said seriously, "I'm not making fun of you, if you're bashful, say you're bashful, but don't blame it on me."

We stood in silence for a couple of minutes until my stomach growled loudly, "Food," I groaned.

"I'll make breakfast," he said quickly, before practically running out my room and down the stairs.

"He's acting weird, even for him," I said to myself.

I quickly found a shirt and as I put it on, heard the front door open and close. I walked down the stairs thinking that Kise had left, but I was confronted with a tall, tired, brown haired and blue eyed man.

"You're back," I said.

"Shi-honey," the man said.

"Yes Daddio?" I asked.

"Why is there a teenage boy in a pink apron in the kitchen?" my father asked.

"He's making me breakfast," I answered.

"Okay, I'm going to take a shower, tell him to make me some too," my dad said as he walked past me.

* * *

_Hey there again awesome people who are reading this. I just wanted to say that I'll probably continue to update this fic on Wednesdays and Sundays and I wanted _

_to give a shoutout to Tgk0224 for that really nice review, it makes me so happy that you enjoy the story and I'll try to continue to write the best that I can for this._


	11. Chapter 11

Rima looked at me bewildered, "This happened weeks ago, how did I not know about this?"

I shrugged, "It wasn't that important."

She continued to look at me shocked, "Not important? You do realize if my dad had come home to a boy in the house alone with me, someone would have been killed."

"If my mom had been the one to come home, Kise would probably be dead or would have suffered from multiple stab wounds, but my dad's pretty chill," I said.

"That's extremely chill, not to mention you three had breakfast together," Rima replied.

I snorted, "Yeah, that was a beautiful experience."

Rima looked at me slyly, "Do tell."

I cleared my throat, "As you wish my loli queen."

**Flashback:**

I poked my head into the kitchen, "Hey blondie, make enough for three, my dad's home."

Kise's body froze at the stove and he looked at me, "Y-our d-ad?"

"Yep," I responded.

He then began to hyperventilate until I flicked him on the forehead, "Calm down, he's just a 50 year old man."

"But this is my first time meeting senpai's dad, and my uniform is wrinkled, my hair's messed up, and I didn't get enough sleep last night, so I look tired," Kise spat out quickly.

I smiled, "Babe, you look stunning no matter what."

Kise blushed for the zillionth time that morning, but seemed too nervous to tell me how mean I was being, "Maybe I can make an escape right now."

I chuckled, "I'll tell you this blondie, he's expecting food and if he doesn't get it he'll never forgive you, and he already saw you in this wonderful apron, I think your chance for a good first impression is gone."

Kise moaned depressedly, I gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder and sat down at the table. He finished making breakfast a couple minutes later and sat down with me, and continued to breathe uneasily and fidget. A door opened and closed soon after, and my dad walked in, sat down, and started to eat. I started to eat myself; Kise picked at his food, but I could tell he was uneasy and wanted to say something, the boy looked liked he was about to burst.

After five minutes Kise couldn't take it anymore, he bowed his head and said loudly, "Haizawa-san, I apologize for being here without your permission, I accidentally fell asleep here last night!"

My father continued to chew his food and looked at Kise plainly, "Boy-"

"Kise," I interjected.

My father started again, "Kise, can I ask you to do something?"

Kise looked like a terrified puppy dog, "Of course," he said in a small voice.

My dad put down his fork, "Marry my daughter."

Kise's eyes became wide as saucers and I nearly choked on my food, "Dad, what the hell?" I asked.

"We didn't do anything last night, I mean we aren't involved like that!" Kise protested.

"Yeah, dad, he's just an underclassman who runs in circles, tiring himself out and falling asleep pretty much anywhere," I added.

Kise frowned at me, "You make me sound like a dog."

I looked at him, "Are you finally becoming self aware?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kise asked.

"Kise," my dad interrupted, "Are you close friends with my daughter?"

"Well, she's my manager, and I like to think senpai and I are friends," he said as I was simultaneously shaking my head "no".

"Then I assume you are aware that my Shi-honey, tends to involve herself in things that can be unlawful and immoral," my dad continued.

"Are you asking me if I know senpai is a delinquent?" Kise asked.

"Yes, and I'll ask you this, do you know what types of people delinquent children bring home?" my dad asked Kise.

Kise shifted uncomfortably and answered, "Um, no?"

"They bring home other delinquents, do you know what I have been through?" my dad said gravely.

"No sir," Kise said, glancing at me.

"Her best friend is a boy with cornrows, whose response to any negative situation is violence, and don't get me started on her ex boyfriend," my dad said.

"Hey, Shouichi wasn't a delinquent," I protested.

My dad looked over at me, "He looked like a serial killer."

"He is not a serial killer," I said, rubbing my temples.

"Bet you five bucks we'll see him on the news in the next decade, when the police find the dead bodies hidden in his basement," my dad said as he chewed his food.

"Don't be ridiculous, Shouchi's way too smart to get caught by the cops," I responded.

"That's not a characteristic I want my future son-in-law to posess," my dad replied.

"Well, maybe it's one I want in my future husband," I said defiantly.

My dad sighed and I looked over at Kise, "What are you smiling about, blondie?"

Kise, who had been staring at the two of us, snapped out of his stupor and said, "It's nothing, I just can see where senpai gets her sense of humor."

It was true, I inherited most of my personality from my father, except for the small part of me that was a thug. That was all my mom, who was fully capable of shanking someone and was actually in a gang when my parents met. I narrowed my eyes, "Speaking of marrying delinquents, should you really be talking?"

"Yes, I married one, but I am not one myself," my dad said, twirling his finger in the air, eerily reminding me of Kise.

My father continued, "Bringing me back to my original point, you seem normal, you seem nice, please don't give up on my daughter."

"I'm not trying anything," Kise sputtered out.

My dad stared at him, "I see, well there's nothing anyone can do about your sexuality."

"What? I'm not-" Kise stuttered.

I interrupted, "I told you blondie, the earring sends mixed signals to the world."

"It was the apron too," my dad added on.

Kise glared at me, "Hey, don't blame me, you're the one who refuses to cook without one," I said.

My dad had finished his food and stood up, "Then there's no problem with you pursuing my daughter, now if you'll excuse me, I just got off a very long flight and I'm going to go to sleep."

"Don't sleep now or else you won't be able to sleep tonight," I warned him.

My dad looked over his shoulder and gave me one of his legendary bitch faces and said sassily, "Don't tell me what to do," before strutting up the stairs.

**End Flashback:**

"And that was how it went," I finished.

"Wow, that was beautiful," Rima said.

"I told you," I said.

"So it is now confirmed that you aren't a black sheep, the rest of your family is as insane as you are," Rima said.

I laughed, "Pretty much, but my brother's mostly normal and nonviolent."

"So he's the odd man out?" Rima asked.

"Yep," I answered.

At that moment, both of us started at the sound of the bell ringing for lunch. We had been in Japanese History, listening to nothing sadist sensei was saying. I was surprised when the entire basketball team flooded into the classroom except for a certain blonde, who I was missing because he had food for me. I spotted Moriyama sit as far away from me as possible, the king of flirting was fine with trying to pick up girls, but became extremely uncomfortable with me once I flung a pick up line right back at him. "What are you all doing here?" I asked.

"Planning for Kise's birthday tomorrow," Kasamatsu answered.

"Which you'll be attending," Rima added.

"Nah," I said.

"You're going Shira," Takeuchi-sensei's voice rang from the front of the room.

"You know what, I think you do this intentionally, _sensei_," I said with malice.

He looked up from the papers he was grading, "It's fun."

I sighed and slumped in my seat, "Obviously we're going to a karaoke place," Kasamatsu said.

"Then we just need a time and place, and someone to make Kise's favorite food," Nakamura said.

All eyes turned on me, "Nah," I said.

"You're the only one in this room who knows how to cook," Kobori said.

I slowly turned my head saying, "What is it?"

"Onion g(l)atin soup," Hayakawa answered.

I sat for a minute staring at him, just marveling at how he managed to pronounce gratin that way before replying, "I don't know how to make that."

"Please Shira," Rima pleaded.

"I guess I can look a recipe up," I mumbled.

"But," I said to the front of the classroom, "I need time to prepare, meaning I will not be able to attend practice this fine afternoon."

Takeuchi-sensei looked at me harshly, understanding the corner I had backed him into, "Whatever," he said gruffly.

* * *

I was at a convenience store close to my house, gathering ingredients I would need for the soup when I heard a high pitched voice say, "Haizawa-senpai?"

"Oh god, please don't recognize me, please don't recognize me, maybe if I pretend like I didn't hear her she'll go away," I said under my breath.

"I thought it was you senpai," a cheery voice said behind me.

"Shit," I whispered, before turning around slowly saying with a forced smile and clenched teeth, "Oh, hi there Momoi."

"It's been so long," the pink hair girl practically shouted as she jumped on me and gave me a bear hug.

She looked up at me and pouted, "I thought I told you to call me Satsuki."

I patted her back awkwardly as she held me tighter, "Umm, I think Momoi's...cuter?" I lied.

"Really?" she asked, her voice muffled.

"Yeah, now if you don't mind, I can't breathe," I said as I tried to wriggle out of her grasp.

"Oh, sorry," she giggled as she released me.

"What brings you to Kanagawa?" I asked her.

"Dai-chan wanted a pair of shoes, and the only place that sold them was a shop here," Momoi sighed tiredly.

"And you decided to tag along?" I asked.

She looked at me, "If I didn't come, who knows what trouble he would get into, you should know what that's like, don't you have the same relationship with Haizaki?"

I laughed, "No, he gets in trouble regardless of whether I'm there or not, and same for me, we're double trouble, if anything we probably make each other worse," I said, thinking back to the night when Shougo and I had a competition on who could beat up more people. He won only because we decided that knocking someone out was worth more points, if that had not been the case, I would've beaten his ass.

Momoi puffed out her cheeks, "I forgot how much of a delinquent you are Shira, anyway, why are you here?"

I looked at her blankly, "I live here."

Her eyes widened, "I thought you lived in Shizuoka."

"My family moved at the beginning of this year," I said.

"So you go to-"

"Kaijo," I answered her.

She looked at me sideways, "Ki-chan goes there you know."

"Ki-chan?" I asked.

"Kise Ryouta" she explained.

I thought for a second about how horrible a nickname "Ki-chan" was before replying to her, "Yeah, I know, I have to spend a lot more time with him than I want to."

She looked at me questioningly, "I'm the basketball team's manager," I said.

She looked at me surprised, "I didn't know you were into basketball Shira."

I sighed, "I'm not, it's more of a punishment for not doing well in one of my classes."

She smiled, "Well, if you need any pointers, maybe we could hang out some time, I'm one of the best managers around ya know."

I smiled at the girl who was trying too hard to be cute, "Oi, Satsuki, did you get something to drink already?" a guy who was walking towards us asked.

I recognized him instantly, Momoi's childhood friend and ace of the generation of miracles, Aomine Daiki. My stomach growled in response to seeing him. Don't be judgy, but something about his skin tone and hair made me think of blueberry pie, hence, seeing him always made me hungry. "Sorry, I got caught up talking with Shira senpai," Momoi responded.

"Huh, who?" he asked.

Yes, I had never met him before, it wasn't like I went to their practices or games just because I was friends with Shoujo. Hell, he barely ever went himself, so the only members of the Teiko basketball team I had met were the ones who were sent to drag Shoujo to practice. I had met most of them, except for Aomine and Murasakibara, both of whom, from what I gather, were too lazy to retrieve Shoujo. "Shira senpai, she went to Teiko with us in freshman year," Momoi answered.

Aomine looked me up and down saying, "Cute, but not big enough boobs."

"Daiki!" Momoi said, horrified at him.

I chuckled, "Momoi, it's okay, at least he said I was cute."

Momoi frowned, "But still-"

"You take the good in life and fuck the rest," I interjected.

She continued to frown, "Shira, that's not a good philosophy, that's how you end up in debt, or in jail."

"If we're being honest, I'll probably end up in both in my lifetime," I said.

That line earned me a chuckle and a smile from blueberry pie, much to my enjoyment. "Shira goes to Kaijo with Ki-chan," Momoi said.

Immediately the smile was gone and Aomine scoffed, "I hope you enjoy seeing them lose, because he's no match for me."

Even though his arrogance annoyed me, I replied with, "Do I look like someone who cares about basketball?"

"But Shira, you're the basketball team's manager," Momi said.

I sighed, "Against my will, remember?"

"How does someone become manager of a basketball team against their will?" Aomine asked, slightly amused.

I chuckled, "They fail one of their classes that just so happens to be taught by the basketball coach."

"That's something you should have experience in Dai-chan," Momoi added in.

Aomine glared at her, I laughed and gave her props for that one. "We have to go, but it was nice seeing you Shira, and I'm looking forward to the Interhigh," Momoi said.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it too," I said winking at Aomine, "Can't say I'm going to mind watching your muscles glisten with sweat for a couple hours, change your attitude a bit and I'll enjoy it even more."

Momoi smiled, "You're still such a flirt."

"Yep, it's just who I am," I said as I watched them walk away, Aomine's ears red due to what I had said to him.

I looked down at my phone, which had the recipe on it, "Okay, next I need onions, lots of onions," I said to myself.

* * *

I looked at the time on my phone, it was almost time to leave. It was June 18th, Kise's birthday, the soup had been made, present wrapped, and time and place chosen. The karaoke place we decided on was a place called Big Echo, the time was 7:00 pm. I was about to leave when my dad called for me in the living room, "So Shi-honey, you're going to see Kise, right?"

"No, we decided to celebrate his birthday without him," I said sarcastically.

"Oh, it's his birthday? Wait, I have something for him," my dad said excitedly and shuffled up the stairs.

My mom, who had come home last week, looked up from her laptop asking, "Who's Kise?"

"He's this annoying puppy dog of a guy," I answered.

"Arrest record?" my mom asked.

"Nope," I replied.

"Any suspensions?" she continued.

"Nada," I answered.

"Grades?"

"Low, but not due to lack of effort, just general stupidity," I said.

"Occupation?"

"Basketball player, karaoke enthusiast, and part time model," I answered.

My mother scrunched up her face, "Why?"

I sighed, "Being the only person capable of cooking in a group of friends is a hard cross to bear."

She nodded in understanding, "He sounds like your father's dream son-in-law though."

Speak of the devil, my dad came down the stairs and handed me a box, before telling me to try not to fight and blah blah blah. I ignored him and walked out the door, finding a cab to drive me to Big Echo, because I didn't feel like walking.

I got there around the same time as everyone else, told the manager that I didn't give a shit about their "no food from outside policy", and successfully smuggled the soup into the room. Kise got there shortly after, and everyone agreed that food and opening presents were first priorities.

Kasamatsu got him a basketball (way to be creative Yuki), Kobori got him a scarf (because he's really gonna need that in the middle of June), Hayakawa got him some baseball cards, Nakamura got him a gift card (a real personal gift), Rima got him the first season of the korean soap opera, and then it was my turn. I handed him my present saying, "I would just like to point out that I made the soup, which is gift in itself, so I don't want any whining about this one."

Kise opened it carefully, and instead of pouting and whining like I thought he might, he started laughing uncontrollably. When he finally got a hold of himself he said with tears in his eyes, "You're too much senpai."

Kasamatsu looked at me, "What'd you do?"

Kise, still trying to maintain his demeanour simply held my present up, in all its pink ruffly glory. Rima laughed saying, "You didn't."

"Oh but I did," I said.

I turned to Kise, "Between that apron and the dvd, I think your sisters are going to have a lot of material to make fun of you with after tonight."

He laughed in response, and while everyone else in the room was looking at us like we were crazy, I held out the box to Kise, "Here blondie, my dad wanted you to have this."  
Kise took the box, opened it, and stopped laughing. In fact, he started trembling, and looked at me with widened eyes asking, "Senpai, how did your dad get these?"

I looked at him, and the other boys who had crowded around the box asking, "Why, what is it?"

Apparently they were fancy basketball shoes signed by some fancy basketball player in the NBA, not that I had any idea what they were talking about. "I told you my dad works in marketing right? He gets a crapload of promotional items from work, this was probably one of them," I answered.

"These are my size though, how would he know that?" Kise mumbled.

I laughed, "That I can answer. Ever since the breakfast incident, he's been following me around the house with your articles like, _Kise likes this, Kise likes that, he doesn't like this, he'd make such a good husband, and father, Shi-honey are you listening to me?_"

Kise turned red as I imitated my dad, "This is really nice though, tell him I said thank you."

"Tell him yourself, my house is on the way to yours, remember?" I said.

"Yeah," Kise said quietly.

The next couple of hours were fun and very embarrassing for those who could not sing. Which was Nakamura, Kobori, and Rima; I would put Hayakawa in that group if his voice had not fit well into the heavy metal and screamo category. Kasamatsu was surprisingly good, and kept on choosing classic rock songs, and Rima's soft voice was incompatible with her boyfriend's screaming one. I was forced into multiple duets with Kise, all of them being high energy pop songs, which I only got through with an intensely sarcastic singing voice if you can imagine that. Overall I'd give the night a solid 5/10, which was a pretty good score considering there was no violence, no inappropriateness, and the party was for someone I don't necessarily like.

* * *

The walk home was quiet, abnormally quiet, especially since I was walking beside a normally very talkative Kise. Usually he would strike up a conversation, I'd make fun of him, he'd call me mean, I'd make fun of him again, he'd blush, and repeat. It was a cycle, a routine, that had been built around my tentative tolerance of him, but here we were now, walking side by side, no one saying a word. I was tempted to ask him what was wrong, but that wasn't my place, we weren't close like that. So, I kept my mouth closed, all the way until we got to my house.

I turned to him, expecting him to say goodbye or want to come in, but he just stood there, looking down, quiet as ever. After five minutes I was extremely uncomfortable and said jokingly, "Blondie, do you find the sidewalk that interesting?"

Kise looked at me without his signature smile, he looked at me with all the seriousness he could muster and asked in an equally serious tone, "Are we friends?"

"No," I answered truthfully.

"Can we be friends?" he asked.

I let out a long breath, "That's a loaded question."

"I really want to be friends with senpai," he said in a somber tone.

"Give me some time to get back to you," I replied.

"Okay…" he said dejectedly, before walking away from me.

I went into my house and rushed up the stairs, "How did it go?" I heard my dad ask me from downstairs.

"I don't want to takao bout it," I tried to grumble angrily before I started cracking up at my stupid pun.

"Love, I'm worried about our daughter. She's being very angsty and now she's laughing at herself," I heard my dad say to my mom as I went into my room and closed my door.

I plopped myself on my bed and dialed the most texted number on my phone, "Hey," the voice on the other line said.

"Hey," I said back.

"Any reason why you're calling me so late?" the voice asked.

I looked at the time, my phone read 12:31 am, "It's not late."

"I know, I was just joking, what's up?" he asked.

"How did you know I called you for a reason?" I asked.

"You're my best friend, I know what you sound like when you want to talk about something," he answered.

"He asked me to be his friend," I said.

"Who?" he asked.

"Satan. He said that he liked my work and he wanted us to like, totally be bffs, who do you think? Who would I call you about?" I said.

"Are you asking for my permission?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered.

The voice on the other line sighed, "Look, I know you wouldn't get involved with my issue with him, so do whatever you want."

I was silent for a moment, "Besides, in your current position it seems like it'd be easier on you to be friends with that annoying son of a bitch."

I laughed, "Are you worried about things being hard for me because of you?"

"Of course, I know things are harder for you because of me," he said seriously.

"Yeah, if I was smart I'd have kicked you to the curb long ago," I joked.

"I agree," he said.

"Love you Sho," I cooed.

"Love you too Shi," he threw back at me.

"Night," I said, hanging up.

Deciding to try my best not to get involved in Shougo's issues with people anymore, I picked up my phone and sent a text:

**12:42 am:** _Hey blondie_

**12:43 am: **_senpai?_

**12:46 am: **_We can be friends_

**12:47 am: **_REALLY?_

_**12:48 am: **__YAY! senpai I'm so happy __（〜__^∇^)__〜_

**12:50 am: **_senpai?_

**12:51 am: **_sssseeeennnppppaaaiii_

_**12:52 am: **__come on senpai, dance with me __〜__(^∇^__〜）_

**12:53 am: **_to celebr8 our friendship_

**12:54 am: **_Kise, I am trying to sleep_

**12:55 am: **_kk, gnite senpai __(✿◡‿◡__ฺ__)zzz_

**12:56 am: **_sweet dreams_

**12:56 am: **_don't let the bedbugs bite_

**12:57 am: **_don't let anything bite_

**12:58 am: **_thats a good rule to have in general_

**12:59 am: **_Kise_

**12:59 am: **_Shut_

**12:59 am: **_The_

**12:59 am**_**: **__Fuck_

**12:59 am: **_Up_


	12. Chapter 12

It was a Friday afternoon, and I was walking to the station from school, Takeuchi-sensei decided not to torture us on Fridays, so I was free. I was planning on catching the next train to Shizuoka with my newfound freedom, because I have felt that I've been neglecting my best friend as of late. I had slipped passed Rima, snuck past Kise, avoided the blonde's fangirls, and thought I was home clear when a pair of slender arms wrapped around my waist. Already knowing who it was due to how hard she was squeezing me I said, "Hey Sakura."

She released me and poked her head through the space between my stomach and arm saying, "Hi, Shira senpai."

"Are you going home?" she asked me.

"No," I responded.

"Where are you going?" she questioned.

"Shizuoka," I replied.

"Are you going to visit Haizaki?" she asked.

I nodded my head yes and she quickly responded by asking me, "Can I go with you?"

I contemplated in my head whether I should let her come with me. Last time Shougo had met Sakura, she had a bloody lip and was crying her eyes out, but I had a feeling the two might get along. At the very best, I think they could tolerate each other, given the fact that Sakura ran my fan club, which according to Rima, was full of delinquents. "Okay," I told her as we arrived at the station.

And that was why, an hour and a half later, I arrived at the Haizaki residence, with a skinny, pink puffy haired girl. I rang the doorbell for the first time in my life. No answer. Rang it a couple more times. No answer. Got frustrated and kicked the door. No answer. Got even more pissed off, threw courtesy out the window, and walked in with Sakura trailing behind me. "Stay here," I told her before I went up the stairs.

I looked in his room, which was empty, and then the rest of the upstairs, which was also empty. I went back downstairs to Sakura, who said, "I took a look at the downstairs, there's no one here."

I sighed, "It would seem so."

"Who leaves their house unlocked?" she asked.

I snorted, "Trust me, everyone in this town knows not to mess with this house."

"So you and Haizaki really are delinquents. Like the real deal," she said.

"Yep," I answered.

"Can you text him?" Sakura asked.

"Already tried that." I sighed.

She looked at me, "Could he be at basketball practice?"

I laughed, "That's probably not where he is."

She continued, "But it fits, he isn't at home and you can't reach him."

"Well, I'll be damned, you up for a visit to my old high school?" I asked her.

She nodded excitedly and followed me out the door, down to the road, and to the school.

When we got to Fukuda, I took the long way to the gym, suddenly very nostalgic of the school I had spent most of my high school life. I came across my old math teacher, who .scurried away as soon as he saw me. I laughed, Takeuchi-sensei was the only teacher who had ever come close to taming me, he should be proud of himself. We stopped outside the gym doors, hearing the squeak of shoes on the wooden floor and the drumming of the basketballs. I opened the doors, and surprise, surprise, I spotted those awful cornrows from across the room and yelled, "Hey bitch, I told you I was coming over today, and you just randomly decide to go to practice for the first time in your life!"

He turned to me, grunted, and continued the practice match he was in. I sighed and looked at Sakura, "Are you regretting your decision to come now?"

I don't think she even heard me, she certainly didn't respond to me; she was too enthralled with Haizaki. Her eyes followed his every movement, "You told me that Kise never beat him, but I didn't think he was this good."

"I mean, I guess," I said.

She turned to me, "Are you completely unaware of what a basketball genius your best friend is?"

I put my hand on her shoulder, "Sakura, it's basketball...I don't care."

"I thought I heard you yell," a voice said beside me.

I turned away from Sakura to see Hideki Ishida, Fukuda's captain; known aliases may include Kiyoshi Teppei. I mean, the two look scarily alike, it's creepy really. You know how there's supposedly seven people on earth who look just like you, well I've found two of the seven right here in Japan. All I need to do is collect five more, then maybe we can join a traveling circus and I can charge the world to see the 7 Kiyoshis (may vary in size)... "Shira?" Ishida asked.

I snapped out of my thoughts, "Sorry Ishi, I just thought of my purpose in life, have you ever thought of joining the circus?"

He looked at me strangely, "Umm...no?"

"Rats," I sighed.

"So, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I came for the sport, old chap," I said.

He didn't laugh, which was rude, but I gave him a straight answer anyways, "For the braids," I said, pointing at Shougo.

He looked where I was pointing, "Of course, it was surprising he came to practice today."

"I apologize, he probably came because he knew I was coming," I said sympathetically.

He smiled softly, "I forgive you, how are you settling in at Kaijo by the way?"

I sighed, "Meh, I'm now the basketball team's manager."

As I said this, Ishida started laughing hysterically, "I'm sorry, it's just, you don't know anything about basketball."

"I know that, they know that, but they're insane and I'm sticking to that story," I said.

Ishida let out a small chuckle before asking me, "I have known you for three years, do you even know what position I play?"

"I don't know...captain?" I guessed.

Ishida lost it, and the poor boy squatted on the floor and curled up into a ball. It looked like he was intensely crying to anyone who was watching from a distance. Once he gathered himself I motioned my head towards Sakura saying, "This is an underclassman of mine from Kaijo."

I looked at her and continued, "She's too mesmerized by Shogo to acknowledge you right now, why is a mystery."

"He is a pretty awesome basketball player," Ishida admitted.

He then leaned into my ear and whispered, "_The problem is he's a violent asshole_."

He winked at me, "Please don't tell him I said that."

I winked back, "He is a violent asshole, please tell him _I_ said that."

"Hey Shira?" Sakura suddenly asked me.

"Yeah?" I answered her.

"Does Haizaki have a fan club?" she questioned.

"I don't know," I turned to Ishida, "Ishi?"

"Yeah, and from what I hear, your's is still going even though you don't attend Fukuda anymore." he replied.

"I have a fan club here?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's basically all the delinquents in our school in a room, talking about how awesome you are, retelling tales of you beating someone up, or beating _them_ up," Ishida answered.

I looked at him questioningly, "Ishi...how do you know this?"

He blushed and coughed, "Well, I might have gone once or twice. Just to make sure that you were safe and they weren't planning anything."

I looked at him dubiously, "Sure."

Sakura on the other hand, was absolutely delighted, "This is great, maybe we can join the two clubs, and I never thought we'd have two locations."

Her eyes sparkled, "Maybe we can have conjoined events, this is going to be great," she squealed.

I looked at Ishida and whispered, "I am so scared."

He laughed at me, but his face hardened when a basketball was dropped on the floor and when Haizaki scoffed, "I'm not even going to continue with this pathetic game."

He looked at me saying, "I still don't understand how you're best friends with him."

"We're a lot alike," I hummed.

"Yeah, but you aren't violent without a reason," Ishida protested.

"That may be right," I conceded.

"You're a very honorable person, Shira," Ishida told me sternly.

"Okay, I get it, I get it, all the more reason my little Haizaki needs me," I responded.

He looked at me and shook his head. I had been friends with Ishida all throughout high school, and while Shogo had always been slinking around, waiting for me to get out of school, this was the first year Ishida had any interaction with him. I could tell he was disgusted, and that was putting it nicely. I knew Ishida wouldn't approve of Shogo or my close friendship with him, due to the fact he was such a good guy. Yet another reason he reminded me of Kiyoshi, they both always had that nice guy aura around them all the time; they were the type of people to have their morals in order, while Shogo and I did not.

Haizaki had walked over to us, "I need to take a shower."

"Yes your highness, we your humble servants will wait for you," I said sarcastically.

"Now, don't be like that, you're both welcome to join me," he said, looking over at Sakura.

Sakura was quiet for a moment, "Sakura," I said accusingly.

"What, I was weighing the pros and cons," she said defensively.

I pushed Haizaki towards the locker room saying, "No, she's not taking you up that offer, and stay away from my underclassman."

I walked up to her saying, "Self respect child, self respect."

She batted her eyes and pouted, "I only considered it because he reminds me so much of you senpai."

I stared at her, unimpressed, "That type of kissing up doesn't work on me."

She pouted some more, "Fine, but you don't understand senpai, it's Friday night, I want to do teenage things."

"Teenage things?" I asked her.

She huffed, "All my friends are Kise fan girls, they're such goody two shoes, they never do anything fun."

I chuckled, "And what constitutes something being a teenage thing?'

"I don't know, something fun, something illegal, something socially unacceptable!" she exclaimed.

"I'm not doing anything that will get you into trouble," I said firmly.

She crossed her arms against her chest and pouted, I struggled not to laugh because she reminded me of a mad chipmunk who had been dyed cotton candy pink. An arm slung around her shoulder and a voice said, "Hey pinky, there's a party tonight, wanna go?"

I glared at Shogo, who smirked in response, and then I looked down at Sakura, who was looking at me pleadingly. "Please, senpai, I won't go without you," she whined.

Shogo grinned widely at me, "Yeah, please _senpai_."

I sighed, "Fine."

* * *

It had been a couple of hours since we had left Fukuda, and I was close to miserable. The party we went to wasn't like the ones you see in the movies, because come on, who leaves just leaves their kids alone in a house. I understand that my parents do that all the time, but they aren't normal. Anyway, this party was in some sleazy, abandoned home with sleazy people who had been abandoned by society.

I'm sure Shogo enjoyed this party because of the amount of girls that were there, however, it's not that enjoyable when you're a female trying to beat guys off with a stick. Sakura had run off somewhere, and I was in a corner, not enjoying myself because I don't drink, do drugs, or believe in promiscuity. I'm a horrible delinquent really, someone should tell my fanclubs. I don't think I really deserve the title of "Bad Girl", it seems ill fitting for some reason.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when a shirtless guy with face tattoos put his arm above my head, and on the wall I was leaning against. He moved his head in an upward motion, "Hey."

I looked him up and down, "No," I simply said, and walked away in search of Sakura.

I found her about five minutes later, and she is a perfect example of why teenagers are not allowed to drink. She was on a couch, with a bunch of vultures who looked like other teenagers sitting next to her; her face was red and she was giggling over something one of the vultures had said. "This is why I didn't want to come here," I said to myself.

"You're always right Shira," I said.

"Thanks, I know," I answered myself.

I quickly snatched her off the couch and went in search of Shogo, who I found chatting up some random chick. I tapped him on the shoulder, "We have to go."

He nodded at me and the three of us struggled to leave the house and start walking back to Shogo's house. By struggle, I mean trying to help our intoxicated Sakura walk properly. After about ten minutes and absolutely no progress I sighed dramatically and said, "This isn't going to work."

"I got this," Shogo told me as he picked up Sakura and slung her over his shoulder.

"You're such a gentleman," I said sarcastically.

"You have any other ideas?" Shogo said, walking ahead of me.

"Whatever, let's just try and get home as quick as possible," I grumbled.

Sakura giggled , "You're so *hiccup* strong, Zaaaakkiii-chan."  
A pained expression flashed across my face, "This is exactly why seventeen year olds shouldn't consume alcohol."

"Huh, she's seventeen?" Shogo asked.

"Yeah, why?" I replied.

"I thought she was younger," he grunted.

Taking a look at Sakura, I could see why. She was average height, almost unnaturally slender, and she always wore her hair in high pigtails, "She does look younger," I mumbled.

Unfortunately, things did not go smoothly when we got to the house. Sakura started running around as soon as Shogo put her down and I sighed asking, "Where's your mom, Sho?"

"She's working tonight," he answered.

"Thank god," I said. Shogo's mother was used to the trouble we got into, but a drunk teenager running around is probably something she would not be okay with.

All of a sudden we heard a splash and I groaned loudly, "Pool," Shogo voiced my thoughts.

We both ran over to the pool, where Sakura was swimming. Naked. I was just done with this whole evening, but Shogo smiled, started taking his clothes off, and turned to me saying, "Come on, don't be a buzzkill."

He then proceeded to go to the diving board, and flip into the pool. I laughed at the two idiots and while I wasn't about to get naked, I wasn't opposed to the idea of stripping down to my bra and underwear and go for a swim.

* * *

I sat down on the couch and continued to dry off my hair; I had slipped on a t-shirt and shorts that I had left here previously. I tied my hair up and turned on the tv; instantly smiling when I saw what was on. Dramatic music and the sound of someone speaking Korean filled the room.

Shogo came into the room; fully clothed and carrying a very drowsy looking Sakura. I held back a laugh; he had managed to get her into one of his t-shirts and it was so large on her tiny body it looked like she was wearing a dress. He laid down on the opposite end of the couch with Sakura still on top of him. I looked at her saying, "Remind me to ask her how much fun doing teenage things are when she's battling a massive hangover tomorrow."

Shogo laughed, "I'll be sure to."

He turned to the screen of the tv and scrunched up his face, "You're watching this?"

"I like this show," I said defensively.

"It looks boring as fuck," he said.

"Not if you pay attention," I said.

"It's not even in Japanese," he protested.

"They have subtitles," I said.

"Too much work," he said, putting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes.

I turned my attention to the screen and not five minutes later heard the sound of snoring to my left. Looking over I saw a sleeping Shogo with a sleeping Sakura nestled up to his neck. "Cute," I thought, taking out my phone. I quickly snapped a picture of the two and saved it for future use of torture or blackmail. As I saved the picture I heard the ending song of the show as well as my ringtone. Looking at my phone, I saw that I had a new text message.

**10:59 pm: **_senpai, please tell me that you just watched what I just watched __(⊙△⊙✿)_

I looked at the tv, smiled, and replied,

**11:00 pm: **_Yes I did blondie_

**11:01 pm: **_what'd you think of the ep?_

**11:01 pm: **_can u believe she's cheating with the butler?_

**11:01 pm: **_senpai?_

**11:03 pm: **_give me a chance to reply blondie, and to answer your question, she's in love with him. What is she supposed to do?_

**11:04 pm: **_but she's cheating on her husband that's not okay __ಠ_____ಠ_

**11:05 pm: **_that sounds like something someone who's never been in love would say_

**11:06 pm: **_senpai that's not fair_

**11:07 pm: **_senpai_

**11:08 pm: **_senpai?_

**11:09 pm: **_senpai, are you trying to sleep? I'm sorry_

**11:10 pm: **_Nah blondie _

**11:11 pm: **_I'll be awake for a while_

**11:12 pm: **_we can still talk_

**11:13 pm: **_Yay _ _*__･゜ﾟ･__*\\(^O^)/*__･゜ﾟ･__* _

**11:13 pm: **_my wish came true_

**11:15 pm: **_wish?_

**11: 16 pm: **_u kno how they say to make a wish at 11:11?_

**11: 16 pm: **_my wish was 2 keep talking to senpai __(__๑__ᴗ__๑__)_

**11: 17 pm: **_and it came true! _

**11:20 pm: **_blondie_

**11:21 pm: **_sometimes you're too adorable for words_

* * *

Hey there lovely readers, I just wanted to thank Konno Miharu and Ayu-chan for their reviews. To Ayu-chan, that was probably one of the cleverest an funny reviews

I've ever gotten for one of my stories, and to Konno Miharu, I'm really happy you think the story's funny and I'm glad that you like it. Reviews and feedback are

always welcome and cool as beans.


	13. Chapter 13

I almost broke my phone in half when it began to scream incessantly at this ungodly hour, before I remembered that I had set the alarm to go off at this time for a specific reason. I shut it off and begrudgingly left my love, my life, and my comfort. Some may call call me crazy, some may say it's just a mattress, but to me he'd always be my bed-chan. I sighed at the thought of leaving him for an extended amount of time. I walked across my room and got ready the best that I could for being half asleep.

Looking at the time on my phone, I realized that despite getting up early, I was almost late. I grabbed the bag that I had packed the night before and ran out of the empty house. I was walking for not two minutes when I heard an annoying voice that was way too happy for it being this early call out, "Senpai!"

I turned around to see the familiar blonde jogging towards me, "Good morning senpai!" he said cheerily.

Using my right hand, I pushed away his face, which had infiltrated my personal bubble saying, "Back the fuck up."

He pouted comically, "Still not much of a morning person, eh senpai-ssu?"

I squinted and used my hand to block my eyes, "God blondie, why are you so bright?"

"Are you talking about my dazzling smile?" Kise asked in a conceited way.

"That, and I think it's your hair," I replied.

"My hair?" he asked curiously.

"You're like the fucking sun," I said as I began walking again.

"Senpai, that's so mean, I can't help the color of my hair," he whined behind me.

I just sighed and didn't respond, making fun of him took energy that I currently did not have. He quickly caught up with my slow pace and decided to comment on it, "You walk slow senpai."

I glared at him fiercely, "That's. Because. I. Have. Short. Legs."

He looked a little bit scared as I continued, "I am aware, that for every step you take, I take two. However, I don't need you to say anything you giant 6"2 imbecile. You're Japanese for fucks sake, why do you need to be that tall? It's unnecessary in life."

He patted my head saying, "I get it, don't be so grumpy-ssu," he continued rubbing my head, "How do you get your hair like this? It's worse than Kurokocchi's bedhead."

I stopped walking, stared at him, and started counting, "One."

Kise looked at me weirdly, "Senpai?"

"Two," I continued.

He tentatively took his hand off my head saying, "Sen...pai?"

I stopped glaring and resumed walking as I had a tiny revelation. Kise acted like he was four, so treating him like a four year old was the way to go. But I don't like kids. I don't

like Kise either. Boom, I had just cracked the code of everything in the Kiseverse. I'm awesome. "Senpai," Kise snapped me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I asked.

"You sure think a lot," Kise stated.

"I like to have conversations with myself," I responded.

"Really?" he asked.

I sighed, "Well, what am I supposed to do when my only other option is talking to you?"

He ignored my dig, "That's weird."

"You're weird," I shot back at him.

He was quiet from then on, "Just like a four year old," I thought.

I lost myself in the silence for a while, but a warm hand settling onto my own brought me back. I looked up in surprise and my eyes locked with Kise's golden ones, "Senpai, your bag."

"What about it?" I asked.

"Let me carry it," he answered.

I shook my hand away from him saying, "I can carry it blondie."

He grabbed my hand and said determinedly, "I'll carry it for you."

I blushed slightly as I handed my bag over to him; Kise was the first guy who had ever been so insistent on taking care of me, every other male I've ever known had understood the fact that I was an independent woman who didn't need a man's help. While I admit it was nice, it solidified my theory that the blonde bimbo couldn't take a hint to save his life. "Are you that disillusioned to think that everyone loves you?" I asked before my brain could tell my mouth that's not what you ask people at six in the morning.

Kise was silent for a while before spouting out his own question, "I know you said we could be friends, but you still don't like me very much, do you senpai?"

I thought about it for a moment, "I don't know you Kise."

Kise frowned, "I don't know you either."

He continued, "I'm pretty good at reading people you know? Comes with my copying ability, but for some reason senpai, I don't understand you at all."

I was silent and he proceeded to talk, "You're sending me mixed messages senpai. One moment you're saying I'm adorable, the next minute you're telling me I'm disillusioned. I'm confused-ssu."

I sighed, "There's really no reason to be confused, the answer is simple. I like one part of you and I absolutely despise the other."

"What is that even supposed to mean?" he whined.

"I don't know what you didn't like about yourself so much you created a completely fake persona that you wear almost all the time, but I know this; I hate the Kise that acts like he likes everybody and everything, and smiles so wide I think his lips are gonna rip. I hate it when you're shallow, fake, and when the only emotion you have is happiness. I do like the Kise that stumbles around like he has no idea what he's doing, and falls asleep in random places even though that's not the acceptable thing to do, and who insists on carrying my bag even though I have made it painfully clear that I do not need nor want your help. Does that answer your question blondie?" I finished.

He was quiet, "And as to your previous statement about not being able to understand me, we're polar opposites, of course you can't figure me out."

"You're plastic and I'm genuine leather," I added on.

He laughed and I continued, "And the part I like about you is...denim? Denim and leather go together, right?"

Kise chuckled saying, "Senpai, you're horrible at analogies."

I narrowed my eyes, "Yeah well, I wouldn't have to use so many if you weren't so dense."

Kise made a stabbing motion to his chest, "That one went right to the heart senpai."

I laughed and he became serious for a moment, "Senpai, why do we always have these deep discussions whenever we're alone together?"

I thought for a second before answering, "It's like Midorima said, we're incompatible. Incompatible people need to talk about their relationship more than compatible people do."

He nodded and then said, "But you're wrong about one thing."

"What's that?" I asked.

"You were wrong when you said you didn't know me. In fact, I'd say you know a lot about me senpai," Kise said.

"I guess," I conceded.

"Sure you haven't fallen for me?" Kise asked.

"Blondie, can you slap yourself, I'm too tired to do it myself," I yawned.

"Mean," Kise said.

"Then again, maybe I have fallen for you," I said slyly.

Kise's eyes widened, "Ehh, really?!"

I snorted, "Hell no, that was a joke."

"Don't toy with a man's emotions like that senpai,"Kise whined.

"Shut up blondie, we're here," I said.

He almost bumped into me when I stopped in front of the bus and flinched when Kasamatsu yelled, "YOU'RE LATE!"

He went to kick Kise and I blocked him saying, "Hold up Yuki, blondie's holding my bag. I've got important stuff in there, I don't want him to drop it."

"Wahh, senpai, I thought you were actually protecting me," Kise cried from behind me.

"Oh shush and get on the bus," I told him.

Kise complied, and I followed him into the bus, with Kasamatsu behind me. I groaned internally when I saw the only seat left was next to the blonde, who looked like he was going to hold my bag hostage if I tried to change seats with someone. I sat down next to him, and tried to get as comfortable as I could with Kise staring and smiling at me. It was creepy to put it lightly, and my dad was worried about _Shouichi_ being a serial killer.

Takeuchi-sensei then began to take roll, and when he got to Kise, he looked at me asking, "What are you doing here Shira?"

I smiled fakely and said sarcastically, "Why, I'm here to support my team of course."

"I didn't plan for you to come," he replied sternly.

It was at that point that Kise started to whine in a tone that told me he was going to have an episode, "NO SENSEI, Haizawa-senpai is our manager, the best manager, and she has to be with us always!"

"Right again Shira," I told myself as Kise stood up on the seat of the bus and said, putting a hand on his chest and waving the other hand in the air, "I absolutely REFUSE to go if senpai isn't going!"

Right after he finished that sentence Kasamatsu threw a book at his head and told him to sit the hell down. As he plopped back down into the seat and started whining I said, "You can't blame him blondie, you were sticking up for me and I still wanted to hit you in the head with a book."

Takeuchi-sensei rubbed his temples saying, "Fine, you can come."

I smiled and tried to get situated in my seat for the long ride we had to who knows where. You see, it was a couple weeks before the Interhigh, and as Kise had predicted, we'd be up against Touou. So, the team was going away the weeks leading up to the Interhigh for a summer training camp. The supporting the team thing I told Takeuchi-sensei was bullshit. It is a well known fact that Kaijo pumps a lot of money into it's sports teams, and training camps were no different. I was going solely for the beach side resort the training camp would be held at, I felt like I deserved a vacation after the hell I had been put through by this basketball team over the past couple of months.

* * *

When we arrived at the resort/training facility, Takeuchi-sensei smiled sadistically as he handed me and Kise a room key, "You've got to be kidding me," I said.

"As a responsible adult, I have to make sure the rooming arrangements are appropriate, and," he said motioning to us both, "I know that nothing will happen between the two of you."

I was about to protest, but Kise grabbed my arm excitedly, saying, "Come on senpai, let's go find our room!"

As Kise dragged me to the elevator I heard Takeuchi-sensei's voice boom, "Get unpacked and then report to the pool."

The doors closed and Kise pressed the button marked seven, "Are you afraid of heights senpai?" he asked me.

"No," I said watching the lights light up, one after another, "But the seventh floor isn't exactly high up."

"I am," Kise said after me.

I looked at him, "You seem to be afraid of a lot of things, blondie."

He smiled at me and said smoothly, "I'm lucky I have senpai to protect me then."

I groaned and pressed the button in hopes of getting off this elevator sooner, and then I realized that it didn't matter cause I still had to be with him outside the elevator. There was no escape from Kise the next couple weeks.

As soon as the doors opened, Kise dragged me down a hallway before I told him, "The room's the other way."

Kise gave me an embarrassed look before dragging me the other way. The room was really nice, it had two queen sized beds and a patio with a view of the ocean. As I walked out onto the patio I heard Kise ask me, "Aren't you going to unpack?"

"Nah, I'm more of a living out of your suitcase type of gal," I said.

"You didn't bring a lot," Kise commented as he placed my bag on my bed.

"I plan to be in my bathing suit most of the time, are you going to be able to handle that?" I asked him.

He blushed, "Of c-ourse."

I laughed saying, "Good, because we have to get to the pool."

"I'll go on ahead!" Kise yelled and ran out of the room.

I chuckled, "That idiot, he didn't even bring his bathing suit."

I quickly changed into a turquoise bikini and sunglasses. Before I left the room, I grabbed Kise's swimsuit, which was a bright yellow and made me want to vomit.

When I arrived down at the pool, I threw the yellow monstrosity at Kise's head and he mumbled a thank you. Takeuchi-sensei then ordered the boys into the pool and they started doing drills. I settled onto a lounge chair under a canopy and ordered a drink from one of the many staff flitting about. Takeuchi-sensei wandered over to me and said amused, "This is what you plan to do the whole time, don't you?"

I looked at him through my sunglasses, "Pretty much."

He laughed before his attention turned to Kasamatsu, who was hopping over to us, "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I got a cramp," Kasamatsu said, dropping on the lounge chair next to me.

"Shira, deal with this," Takeuchi-sensei said and walked away.

I looked at Kasamatsu alarmed, "Yuki, I don't know how to handle this."

He sat up, and swung his legs facing me, "Just push on it here," he said, placing my hands on his leg.

I did as I was told, and it seemed to be working from the wave of relief that washed over Kasamatsu. "Coach, I can do that!" Kise yelled from the water.

"No, Shira's dealing with it, get back to your exercises," Takeuchi-sensei ordered him.

Kise pouted and blew bubbles under the water before swimming away. "He's so juvenile," Kasamatsu mumbled under his breath.

I chuckled, "It's Kise, what do you expect. The only thing worth wondering about is whether he's jealous over you or me."

"I have no idea what you just said," Kasamatsu said confused.

"Which senpai do you think he loves more, me or you?" I asked.

Kasamatsu laughed, "We're both pretty horrible to him."

"I know, it makes me wonder if he's all there the way he acts so possessive," I responded.

Kasamatsu cocked an eyebrow, "Kise's not possessive."

I took my hands off his leg, which was fine now, saying, "I guess I'm just special then."

Kasamatsu threw a towel at me as he walked back to the pool, saying, "Don't let it get to you, you're already full of it enough."

I smiled and went back to relaxing, or trying to relax. Cold water kept splashing my foot about every five seconds, and when I looked up I saw a familiar yellow head. "Yes?" I asked him in an annoyed tone.

"Senpai, come swim with meeee," Kise whined.

"No," I said plainly.

"Whhyyyyyy," Kise pouted like a little kid.

"I don't like the water," I said.

"Why not?" Kise asked curiously.

I looked at him, "I'm not a very strong swimmer."

"Ehhh, you don't know how to swim senpai? I'll teach you-ssu," Kise said cheerfully.

I sighed in irritation. I don't believe I told Kise that I can't swim, because I can, I just like to think of it as I have respect for the water. People are easy to overcome, but water, that shit is mother nature's way of keeping you in check. Fire? You can put it out. Tornado? Go into your basement. Water? There isn't any way to stop that one my friends, and while I get swimming is different than being caught in a flood or tsunami, I prefer to swim in calm environments. Forty teenage boys splashing aggressively in an enclosed area is not my idea of calm.

Apparently my opinion didn't matter though, because a couple minutes later I found myself being hoisted onto someone's back and carried towards the pool. Can you guess who that someone is? Yep, it was Kise, and he had carried me all the way into the pool and said, "Okay, the first step is to learn how to float."

"I know how to swim idiot," I said.

He looked down at me and asked, "Then why are you hanging onto me?"

I had my arms around his neck and looking up, answered, "I don't want to get my hair wet."

Kise smiled mischieviously and said, "Too late-ssu," before plunging underwater, taking me, who was clinging to his neck, down with him.

I managed to wriggle out of Kise's grasp and emerged from the water coughing and with my hair stuck to the front of my face. I went underwater for a second to fix my hair, and when I came back up, was confronted with Takeuchi-sensei glaring down at me, "What do you two think you're doing?" he asked.

I glanced back at Kise, who was about to lock me in another bear hug and drag me down to the depths of the pool, and quickly said, "I believe Kise just tried to drown me sensei."

Takeuchi sensei ordered Kise to go back to practicing, and I squeaked as he pulled me up (he is surprisingly strong). I hugged him saying, "Thank you for saving me from Kise, I have never loved someone that I hate more than I do now."

I let him go saying, "I'm going to go shower sensei, I'll be back later."

I scurried away from his unamused face and smelling my hair, said to myself, "Ugh, I hate the smell of chlorine."

* * *

I got out of the shower and put on a simple black sundress and looked out onto the patio. The sky had turned a burnt orange and my hair smelled like strawberries now, so I headed down to the restaurant where everyone was having dinner.

Upon arrival, I sat down next to Kasamatsu and ordered a burger. Most of the meal was spent in silence, due to the fact the guys were shoveling and guzzling the food into their mouths too rapidly to have an actual conversation. I guess a grueling day of physical activity will do that to you.

Almost at the exact time I swallowed my last bite of burger, my phone rang. "Hello?" I answered.

"Haizawa senpai? Shit, I meant to call Kasamatsu senpai," I heard Kise on the other line, he sounded as if he was crying.

"Blondie?" I asked, but as soon as the words had left my mouth I heard his phone drop on the floor.

I hung up my phone and turned to Kasamatsu, "Where's Kise?"

He stopped eating and answered me, "I think he went out for a walk on the beach, why?"

"You know, that sounds like a great idea, I think I'm gonna join him," I said, getting up from the table.

I walked out of the hotel the back way, and spotted a crowbar lying next to a dumpster. "Just in case," I said picking it up and continuing down to the beach.

I continued walking along the beach for about five minutes until I came upon a small cluster of hidden coves. And sure enough, I was able to spot a bright yellow head of hair amongst the dirty brown of the rocks. Only, he was surrounded by four guys who were too close to him for my liking.

Sneaking up quietly I heard the one closest to Kise say, "We're just going to have some fun, we've never had anyone as pretty as you."

He brushed his hand against Kise's cheek, which Kise shut his eyes to and tried to squirm away, which he couldn't do because he was backed against a wall of rock. The rest of the men started laughing, and I clenched the crowbar in my hand, really glad I had decided to pick it up. "Hey," I said in a steely tone.

The one closest to Kise (who I gather is their leader) looked at me and grinned wildly, "Well, well, well, what do we have here? You're pretty cute too, I guess we'll be having twice the fun, heh."

While he said that, he had abandoned Kise and started walking towards me. I was quiet the whole time, now was not a time for me to make sarcastic and snappy remarks, now was a time for me to fuck some people up.

I waited until he came closer to me, then I kicked him where the sun don't shine and swung the crowbar across his face when he dropped to his knees. The one closest to us tried to punch me, but I grabbed his fist, pulled him to the ground, and heard the satisfying crack of his teeth being dislodged from his gums as I jutted the end of the crowbar into his face. The next one tried to tackle me, so I elbowed his throat and stomped on his hand when he hit the ground, hearing the bones in his fingers crunch beautifully. The one left tried to run away, but I kicked him in the back and landed a blow with the crowbar to the back of his head. I looked at Kise next, "Let's go," I said, turning away from the scene.

I heard Kise run up to me and he clutched onto my dress with a trembling hand. I took the long way up the beach and stopped at a Maji Burger a street down from the hotel. "Stay here," I told Kise, although I was reluctant to leave him, and he looked even more reluctant to let me go.

I went to a payphone outside the Maji Burger and made a quick phone call, before motioning Kise to come over to me. "I'm sorry senpai, I shouldn't have gone all by myself," he said with tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault blondie," I said toughly.

"I didn't mean to bother you senpai, I usually call Kasamatsu senpai when this happens-ssu," he sobbed.

I cocked my head, "Normally?"

"A lot of times I have crazy over the top female fans, but sometimes I have the occasional guy fan or wrong types of people recognize me," he sniffed.

"And Yuki comes to help if you can't fend them off yourself," I finished for him.

He nodded at me and I said seriously, "Look Kise, the next time something like this happens you call the police first."

"I can't," Kise cried.

"You can't?" I asked.

"It's embarrassing!" he sputtered out.

I narrowed my eyes, "I don't give a shit if it's embarrassing, the most important thing is you're safe, and Yuki and I aren't always going to be able to come or answer our phones."

He wiped the little bit of snot that was dripping down his nose away and sniffled, "Okay."

I took his hand in mine and led him up the street saying, "Come on, let's get you back to the hotel."

"Senpai," I heard behind me.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Speaking of the police, do you think we should call them, I saw one of those guys start coughing up blood," Kise said.

"I already did, who do you think I was talking to on the payphone, I didn't want to call on my cell in case one of them died or something. I have a lot going on in my life right now, I don't need a murder charge," I explained.

Kise gave me a small smile, but squeezed my hand so tight I thought one of my fingers might break.

We went straight to the room when we got to the hotel, I offered to order some food for Kise, but he said he wasn't hungry. He was sitting on the bed and began crying again saying, "I should have been able to defend myself."

I walked over to him and patted his head, "It was four against one, those aren't fair odds."

He looked at me, "You fought them off."  
I smiled, "Yeah, but I'm used to fighting, and I had a crowbar."

"By the way senpai, why do you still have that thing?" Kise asked.

"Because I like it," I said.

He scrunched up his face, "You should get rid of it, it's covered in blood."

"No, we've already formed an emotional bond," I stated.

"Whatever, you're weird," Kise said, getting into his bed.

"You're weirder," I said, as I turned off the light and got into my own bed.

A couple minutes later I heard Kise's voice go, "Senpai?"

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Do you mind not telling anyone what happened today?" he asked me.

I extended my hand from my bed saying, "Sure thing."  
"What are you doing?" Kise asked.

"Pinky promise," I answered.

"Pinky promise?" he asked.

"I pinky promise that I won't tell. Pinky promises are sacred you know," I replied.

A second later I felt Kise's long pinky finger wrap around my small one, "Okay then, a pinky promise," he said.

I retracted my hand after that, and tried to get some sleep. Kise had left the door to the patio open and the sound of the waves crashing against the sand filled the entire room, but I didn't mind. I didn't mind when I felt a dip in my mattress an hour later. I didn't mind when Kise's head rested in the crook of my neck. I didn't mind that he reeked of chlorine.


	14. Chapter 14

I woke up to the cold, and the five blankets I had piled on top of me in preparation for this cold were doing nothing to help me stay warm. The reason for this bitter cold is Kise. Over the past couple weeks, he had gotten into the habit of keeping the patio doors open at night because it made him feel "safe". The problem was, even though it was summer, I woke up to a freezing room every morning. Of course this wasn't a problem for Kise, whose bed was on the other side of the room and a comfortable distance away from the patio doors. I also have this theory that buff teenage boys produce more body heat than short teenage girls.

I shivered and, gathering a couple blankets around me, walked across the room. I glared at the shirtless boy under me, who was in a blissful sleep despite it being an icebox in here. I crept under the blankets and pressed my hands against his back, which was unusually warm. Kise stirred in his sleep saying groggily, "Cold."

"Yeah, well they wouldn't be cold if you closed the door at night," I snapped at him.

Half asleep Kise mumbled, "See senpai, you have fallen for me."

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"We're snuggling," he said happily.

"We. Are. Not. Snuggling." I snapped.

"Don't flatter yourself. The only reason I'm in your bed is because I am freezing," I added on grumpily.

"You're cold?" Kise asked.

"Yeah," I said, wondering if he he had completely forgotten the first part of our conversation.

"Come here senpai," Kise said turning towards me.

Suddenly regretting my decision to crawl into his bed, I tried to roll off the bed, but I quickly found myself imprisoned in Kise's arms. "Let go," I said demonically.

Kise nuzzled my neck and whined, "No, I can't let senpai be cold-ssu!"

I gave him a look of disbelief because I wouldn't be cold in the first place if it wasn't for him, but that look was lost when I choked on Kise's hair. I swear the boy was trying to kill me, because I was slowly suffocating from all of his weight on top of me and his hair was smothering my face. I struggled to get out of his grasp, but gave up because he was warm and I was tired. Kise's breathing slowed and he murmured, "So soft, everything about you's so soft."

I blushed until I heard Kise say, "Except your personality."  
The moment ruined, I tugged on Kise's hair saying, "Wake up blondie."

"Waah, senpai that hurts," he cried.

"It's time to wake up," I said in a cold tone.

He nuzzled deeper in my neck before saying, "I don't feel like getting up."  
I sighed, "Isn't this usually the other way around?"

It fell on deaf ears however, because Kise had already fallen back asleep. I let him sleep for a while, because he was like a personal heater and I didn't necessarily want to get up either. I let him sleep until he started drooling and warm saliva dripped onto my shoulder. At that point I literally pushed him off the bed, "Ow, senpai, what was that for?" Kise whined.

Sitting up I responded, "That was for drooling on me."

He stood up, "I do not drool."

I stood on the bed to reach his height, and leaning on his shoulder said slyly, "You don't? How do you explain this wet spot on my shoulder then? Are you saying that you licked me?"

Kise widened his eyes, "How indecent," I chided.

"Senpai, don't say things like that," he pouted.

I got closer to his face, "Why? Cause it's true?"

He blushed furiously and whined, "Senpai."

I pulled away from him, "Fine, fine, I'll stop, but you have to get ready for training, sadist sensei's expecting you in ten minutes."

"Me? You aren't coming?" Kise asked me.

"Well, it's our last couple of days here and I've barely left the hotel. I'm going to take today to go explore the town and maybe go to the beach," I replied.

Kise sighed, "Okay senpai, but I can tell you this; I won't perform half as well without you there watching me."

I sighed back saying, "Okay blondie, but I can tell you this; I won't half half as much of a headache without you."

He poked me in the stomach saying, "Mean senpai."

I sent him a glare, "Touch me again and die."

He laughed and was about to start tickling me, but luckily I was saved by Kasamatsu knocking angrily on the door shouting, "COME ON KISE!"

It was my turn to laugh as Kise hurriedly got dressed and stumbled out the door. After he left I slipped on my black sundress, which I had deemed as a good luck charm since Kise's near assault a couple weeks ago, and I headed out of the hotel.

I walked into town first, it was a small area with a slew of vacation homes, a couple of restaurants, and a few boutiques. I grabbed my hair as I came across a hair salon, and seeing more split ends than I desired, I decided to go in for a haircut.

Walking in I was greeted by a young woman who led me to the back, washed my hair, and sat me down in a chair. Another young woman then approached me and began combing and examining my hair with her light blue acrylic nails. She chewed a piece of gum loudly as she asked, "What do you want to do today?"

"I was just thinking of getting a trim," I responded.

"Mmk," she chomped and began cutting away at my hair.

As she cut my hair, the young woman who had washed my hair came back and began to talk to the hairdresser, "Did you hear?" she asked.

"Bout' what?" the hairdresser questioned.

"About that model that's staying here."

My hairdresser's eyes lit up, "Of course, I hoped that he might have a hair crisis or somethin' and come in here."

The other woman laughed, "You do know he's a teenager right?"

My hairdresser sighed, "Yeah, I know, but a girl can dream."

The other woman nodded her head in agreement, "I have to admit, he is really handsome."

"I know right? And he seems totally sweet from the stuff I've read 'bout him" the hairdresser replied.

"He's annoying," I said quickly out of habit.

The two women looked at me, "You know him?" they asked me in unison.

I groaned and cursed my lack of ability to keep my mouth shut, "Yeah, I'm the manager of his basketball team."

"So, this hair I'm doin', is gonna be seen by THE Kise Ryota?" the hairdresser asked.

I nodded slowly and cringed when she squealed, "Then I'mma have to style it as well."

"That's really not necessary," I said.

No matter how many times I protested, the lady insisted on taking creative control of my hair. She kept my length, blow dried it, and then curled it. Looking in the mirror afterwards I had to give it to the woman, she knew hair. She didn't go overboard with the curls, so instead of tight coils, there were soft and loose curls that framed my face.

I went to the front to pay her and she stopped me, "It's on the house, just maybe mention this place to that model friend of yours."

She disappeared to the back of the salon, and I left the money I owed on the counter. I didn't feel right about not paying, and I would feel horrible using Kise and his notoriety to get something for free. A delinquent maybe, but a leech who uses people for their own gain I was not.

I exited the salon and continued to walk through the town. At one point I had left town, I know this because I was suddenly in a forest area of some kind. I was completely lost, but I continued to wander around, not particularly worried since I still had reception on my cell phone.

I must have been walking around for an hour or so when I heard the drumming of basketballs against the ground. Thinking I had circled back to the hotel and that fate had once again led me to the basketball team, I headed in the direction of the sound. When I reached the building that the noise was coming from, I was confronted with a shabbier version of the resort that we were staying in. Even though it wasn't what I expected, I continued towards the building which had peaked my interest. And what I saw once I peered into the gym was very surprising indeed.

I knew my team wasn't going to be in there of course, but what I didn't expect was to see two teams that I was familiar with playing against one another. I walked in virtually unnoticed and approached the coach that I felt most comfortable with, "Hey," I said.

She looked at me with a shocked expression, "You're Kaijo's manager...Shira right?"

"Yeah, and you're Riko?" I asked her.

She nodded yes and continued watching the current game intently, "So, what's going on here?" I asked.

"Shutoku and us just happened to be boarding in the same building, so we decided to hold joint practices," she answered.

"I see, and how have they gone?" I asked.

"They've beaten us in all the games, but by a small margin," she replied.

I scanned the court, noticing Kiyoshi was playing, but what was more noticeable was the quietness of the room and the absence of a loud redhead, "That's great, especially since you seem to be missing the American hottie."

She glanced at me, "He's training separately."

I nodded in understanding and continued to watch the game, which despite it being quieter without Kagami, was just as intense. I say that because I was standing right in front of them, but neither Midorima, Kiyoshi, or Kuroko noticed me; they were completely focused on each other and the game.

The game was over shortly after I arrived, and like Riko had described earlier, Shutoku won, but just barely. Kiyoshi was the first to see me, waving at me dumbly and and saying, "Hi there, Shira."

I walked over to him, gave him a small hug, and said, "Hey Te-chan."

Releasing him I said under my breath, "How are your knees."

He smiled and rubbed the back of his hands saying, "They're holding up."

I looked him over, "Good, don't push yourself too hard."

"I know, don't worry too much Shira," he said.

"What are you talking about?" Kuroko said, popping up out of nowhere.

"Nothing," Kiyoshi and I said at the same time.

"Hello my sweet panda," I said, pulling Kuroko in a tight hug.

"Hello, Shira-kun," Kuroko responded.

"What are you doing here?" a voice said harshly.

I didn't even have to look to know the green haired tsundere that said it, but I walked over to Midorima anyway saying, "Isn't it obvious mommy, I came here to elope with you."

That earned a hysterical laugh from Takao and a severe glare from Midorima, "What are you doing here?" Kuroko asked in a nicer tone.

I looked at him, "Kaijo's training camp is on the other side of town. I was exploring, got lost, and ended up here. You know me boys, anywhere, anytime, I always end up among basketball players."

"Kise's here?" Kuroko asked.

"Yes, my little darling," I answered.

"But only for a few more days, coach wants them to rest up for the Interhigh," I added.

"I see," Kuroko said.

"Speaking of which, I was trying to get away from basketball today so I'm going to take my leave, which direction is the beach from here?" I asked.

"To the left," Kiyoshi replied.

"Goodbye Shira-kun," Kuroko said as I left.

"Bye-bye, sweetie," I responded to him.

Once I was got to the beach, I saw a familiar redhead running along the shore, "_Kagamicchi_," I shouted in imitation of Kise.

I saw Kagami cringe as I walked up to him, "Don't call me that," he said gruffly.

"It was just a joke," I said.

"What are you doing here?" he asked me suddenly.

"Kaijo's training camp," I explained.

"So Kise's here?" he growled.

I silently wondered if this was a perfectly normal primal noise used by male adolescents. Did all teenage boys who were alpha males have this reaction when another alpha male was close by? I don't see Kise as an alpha male, but maybe Kagami thinks differently. I should ask the biology teacher about this when I get back to school, if it's not a territorial thing, I'm going to assume it's some type of mating call.

"Shira?" Kagami snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry, spaced out, anyway is this the separate training Riko was talking about?" I asked.

"Yeah, I have to get the drinks. One by one," he replied, and it was the first time I noticed the plastic bag full of beverages he was carrying.

He looked at me saying, "You're hair's different, it's fluffier."

I laughed, "You're horrible at compliments."

"Do you want to help me?" he asked suddenly.

"I don't run," I said.

He smiled, "I figured that, it's just the extra weight would really improve my training."

I blinked at him for a couple minutes before saying, "For future reference, just ask if you can carry girls on your back, never refer to a girl as extra weight, that shit'll get you tased."

"I didn't mean it like that," he said flustered.

"I know, and you're just lucky I never refuse a piggyback ride," I said, getting onto his back.

We must have been a sight the next couple of hours, a teenager carrying a large plastic bag and another teenager was not the exact picture of normalcy. I pushed Kagami into the ocean a couple of times or made him run back and forth a couple times without me whenever I felt like he was overheating. We finally made the last run when it had become dark out and he went to deliver the drinks while I went out and got him some food.

After getting Kagami's order, which consisted of around twenty cheeseburgers and a milkshake (for my sweet panda) I made my way back to where they were staying. I spotted Kagami and Midorima seemingly in a deep conversation. I approached them, only to be yanked behind a bush by Takao and Kuroko, who motioned for me to be quiet. I slid the milkshake over to Kuroko who mouthed a silent thank you.

I wondered why the three of us were hiding, I guess we were eavesdropping on Kagami and Midorima, but I wasn't really listening. My attention was grabbed however, when Kagami dunked a basketball and caused a basketball hoop to tip over and almost crush us. I turned to the two whispering, "On that note, I'll be leaving, give Kagami these," I said, handing the bag over to Kuroko.

"I'll walk you back to your hotel," Takao whispered.

"Thanks, but no thanks," I whispered back.

"It's dangerous at night," Takao insisted.

"She doesn't need you to accompany her," Kuroko said to him.

"It's like my sweet panda said, bye guys," I whispered, before crawling away.

* * *

When I got to the hotel, I was confronted by Takeuchi-sensei, "Where have you been?" he demanded.

"Out," I answered obscurely.

Kise popped out of nowhere pointing at his phone, whining, "Senpai, why did you post a picture of yourself on Kagamicchi's back?"

"Kise, didn't we talk about the stalking? That applies to my social media too," I scolded.

"Seirin's ace?" sensei questioned.

"Yeah, and I came across Shutoku too," I said.

"What were you doing with them?" Takeuchi-sensei asked.

"I went there to see my fiance," I said jokingly.

Kise, understanding who I was talking about, put his hands on his hips and pouted, "That's not funny senpai."  
"I don't recall asking for your commentary blondie," I said to him.

"What were you doing with them," Takeuchi sensei reiterated.

Thinking on my feet I said, "Spying?"  
"Spying?" he asked.

I handed him my phone saying, "Yeah, I got some really good stuff too."

Sadist sensei looked at my phone for a couple of minutes before his eyebrow twitched and he yelled at me, "THESE ARE JUST PICTURES OF MUSCLES!"

"Really, all of them?" I asked.

"Yes, all of them," he said in an annoyed tone.

I clicked my tongue, "Sorry, it must have been the pheromones."

"Senpai," Kise whined.

"What do you expect from me, I was around Midorima's back muscles," I said defensively.

Kise pouted, "He does have the best back muscles in the generation of miracles," I added.

"I have great back muscles too," Kise said.

"I know, but it's just not _your _muscle," I said.

"It's very simple; Midorima has the best back muscles, Aomine has the best arm muscles, Kagami has the best leg muscles-"

"Kagamicchi isn't part of the generation of miracles," Kise interrupted.

"I just decided he is, now to continue; Murasakibara has the best abs, Akashi has the most menacing muscles, and Kuroko's muscles have the best personality," I finished.

"What about me?" Kise asked expectantly.

"You don't know, it's pretty obvious," I said.

"What?" Kise asked impatiently.

"Blondie, you hands down, have the best ass," I answered.

Kise blushed furiously, "What are you saying senpai?" he stuttered.

"I don't know what your butt muscles are doing, but they're doing something great, because the shape is just perfectly round. It's a piece of art really," I explained.

"I give up on both of you," Takeuchi-sensei said as he left us.

"Don't joke like that senpai!" Kise said as he turned away from me.

"I'm not joking," I said, giving him a light slap on the rear, "Now get a move on babe, that freezer of a room awaits us."

* * *

Hey there! I just wanted to thank ashenforests and Wolf and Leopard for their lovely reviews, it really means a lot to me that you took the time to leave comments

(Reviews give me life). I would like to thank Ayu-chan again for leaving another clever review and I'm really glad that people seemed to like the reverse gender

stereotype from the last chapter.


	15. Chapter 15

Today was the day, and although I have and always will find basketball pretty boring; I am nervous. Kise's rivalry with Aomine coupled with Kasamatsu's need to redeem himself made me anxious for them. However, even though I was slightly nervous, in true delinquent style; I brushed it off on the outside and walked inside with my team. Yes I had started calling them that, and no, I do not need any snide remarks in reference to how I dreaded being their manager up until a couple of weeks ago.

As soon as I walked inside I was almost tackled to the ground and a very shrill voice went, "Shira senpai!"

"Hey there Momoi," I said.

Kise looked at me, "You know Momoicchi?"  
I sighed, "It seems that no matter how many times I say it, the concept never quite stays with you. Blondie, you do recall I went to the same middle school as you?"

"Ki-chan, you didn't know her because you joined the basketball team when you were a second year," Momoi chimed in.

"Yeah, _Ki-chan_," I said mockingly.

Kise stuck his tongue out at me as Momoi finally let me out of her bear hug. I was about to smack Kise upside the head, but I was stopped as Aomine approached us. He looked me over lazily, "What's up cute but flatchested?"

I assume he was talking to me, but it was Kise who responded with a low growl, "Aominecchi."

Then Aomine growled back, "Kise, you ready to lose?"

I never got to ask the biology teacher about teenage boys and their tendency to growl around one another, but I'm going to go with it being a territorial thing. I'm sure Kise was about the reply with another growl, but my stomach growled loudly and everyone ended up looking at me. "What, I'm hungry. It's your fault," I said to Aomine, who replied with a questioning look.

"You look like blueberry pie," I said, clutching my stomach.

Momoi and Kise ended up laughing, and a small smile ghosted over Aomine's lips. "Underclassman," I said to Kasamatsu.

He scoffed, "Like you're any better."

I feigned a look of hurt, "I am deeply offended by that Yuki."

He didn't get a chance to respond because my stomach growled again, "Screw it, I'm going to go get something to drink."

"There's a vending machine over here," Momoi said, grabbing my arm.

Aomine followed behind us, as did Kise and the rest of our team. It was a little unnerving having almost ten people stare at you and judge your choice of beverage, although I didn't have to decide because someone pressed the button for me. When I looked up at the person to yell and possibly punch them I was confronted with Imayoshi, who smiled saying, "You like the sweet one right?"

I went to pick up the drink replying, "Yep, you have a good memory."

"You flatter me, so how are you Shira?" he said, giving me a small hug and a kiss on the head.

"I'm okay, you?" I said, returning his hug.

He chuckled, "I'd be better if you're ace wasn't looking at me like that."

I turned my head to face Kise, who was glaring daggers and scowling at him, "What's your problem blondie?" I asked.

"_My _manager," he pouted.

I sighed, "Not this again," I sighed again and explained, "Shouichi, just know that for some reason unknown to the rest of us, blondie's world would absolutely implode if I was ever taken away by a member of another basketball team."  
Imayoshi chuckled before looking at the vending machine and saying, "This thing sure brings back memories."

I looked at the worn down machine before realization hit me, "How do you and captain Imayoshi know each other?" Momoi asked me.

"Shouichi? He's my ex boyfriend," I answered her.

Momoi had a look of shock on her face before blurting out, "Captain and Shira senpai, how did that even happen?"  
Imayoshi smiled widely and lightly hit the vending machine, "Well, it all started right here in fact."

Everyone looked at us in a confused manner until I explained:

**Flashback:**

I was in my second year at Teiko, when a friend had forced me to go see a basketball game because she had a crush on one of the players; it was us against Shoei and I think we won, but I honestly wasn't paying enough attention to the game.

After the game, I was thirsty and ended up at the vending machine closest to the exit as I was on my way out. I remember there being a long line, and after ten minutes I was only one person away from getting a drink. As the person in front of me was about to put in their money, this guy ran past me, knocking me over and into the person in front. I quickly regained my footing and kicked the guy to the floor shouting, "Hey asshole, watch where you're going!"

They guy squirmed away, and I turned to the person I had accidentally knocked over. He had already gotten up, but I noticed that his money had rolled underneath the machine, never to be seen again, "Sorry about that, here, let me pay for your drink," I said, reaching for my wallet.

Only I never got to my wallet, and I never got to pay for the person's drink. That was mainly due to the fact that he lightly pushed me against the vending machine saying, "It's really no problem."

He said that right before he kissed me, and continued to kiss me until the person behind us complained that he wanted to get his drink. I walked away with the guy, who introduced himself as Imayoshi Shouichi, and because I liked his forwardness, I agreed to go on a date with him.

**End Flashback:**

Momoi looked at Imayoshi, "Captain, that was so...bold."

He smiled saying, "Well I couldn't help it, she was so ferocious to the guy that had knocked her over, then she looked at me so cutely."

Imayoshi reached his arm out to pinch my cheek, but his hand was slapped away and I was being dragged by none other than Kise as he said, "I'm sorry, but we have to go to our locker room-ssu."

From behind us I could hear Kasamatsu say to me, "Shira, I admit that I was wrong when I said Kise wasn't possessive."

"It's okay, I can understand it must be hard to see how possessive he is when you're not his favorite senpai," I replied.

He tried not to smile, but I could see the corners of his lips twitch upwards. Once we were in the locker room, Kasamatsu delivered one of his captainy speeches and then the team fell into an intense silence. At least that was before Takeuchi-sensei walked in, and I swear to you, even Kasamatsu started laughing. "Sensei, why are you trying to compete with that Touou coach?" Kise asked in between laughing.

"Shut up blondie," I said to Kise, and then turning to sadist sensei saying, "I must say sensei, you look very snappy."

Takeuchi-sensei looked at me dubiously as Kise burst into another fit of giggles, "I'm serious, if you got down on one knee and asked me to marry you right now, I would find it very hard to refuse."

"That Touou coach is no competition for you sensei, his hair's greasy," I continued.

He then walked out without a word, which was rude, he could've at least thanked me for being my nice and kind self. I guess we were supposed to follow him because the whole team began to walk out of the room. Just my luck, a certain annoying blonde decided he needed to walk with me and violate my personal bubble. "That's a pretty earring senpai," Kise said touching my ear.

I glared at him when he touched me, but I didn't need to look to know which one he was talking about. I had found the earring in the street on my way home from school one day and had considered it a really good find, it was blue steel and almost matched the color of my eyes perfectly. I smiled, "Thanks, I'll tell you what blondie. If you win this match, I'll give it to you."

"Really?" Kise asked excitedly.

"Yes, now shut up before I change my mind," I said.

I was surprised when he actually did become quiet, but I think that was more because of his nerves and determination to win. When we got on the court, I sat down on the bench next to Nakamura and eyed Aomine, who was looking as smug as ever.

Now, I will never claim to be interested in basketball, so I am sorry to disappoint, but I pretty much zoned out the first quarter of the game. All I know is that I looked up, and to my enjoyment Kaijo was up by five points. I did notice that Touou seemed to get a lot stronger in the second quarter, and in the middle of it Kaijo called a time out. I watched as the five tired and sweaty players returned to the bench. "Coach, can I have permission to do what I asked about earlier?" Kise asked.

Takeuchi-sensei nodded, and I wondered what he meant. From across the court, I locked eyes with Shouichi and he gave me a smile and a small wave. I was about to return it when a pair of hands slammed down on the bench next to both sides of my hips, and I was confronted with eyes that I hadn't seen before. I registered that it was Kise, but he wore an expression I had never witnessed on him, and his eyes glared at me so fiercely they almost glowed. "Senpai, do me a favor," he said in a cold tone, and curling his fingers till they shook said, "Since the rest of of our team can't seem to keep your eyes off him, just watch me and me alone for the rest of the game."

"Kise, don't talk to her that way," Kasamatsu reprimanded.

"No, it's okay Yuki. I like this side of blondie, it kinda turns me on," I said jokingly.

I fully expected Kise to turn into a ball of mush at that statement and declare that I was mean of just whine "senpai" till I was forced into silence. He didn't do any of that however, he just quietly and calmly stood back up and returned to the court, leaving me in a dazed and confused state. Up until now, if I had to describe Kise it would be that the bubbly persona that I had dubbed as a facade at first was his actual personality, but now I was more confused than ever. I had never seen that side of Kise before, and it fit him too well for me to say that it was fake, but it certainly wasn't his whole personality.

After that I actually started paying attention to the game, and kept my eyes on Kise, not that he allowed me to do anything else. Even to someone like me, who knew virtually nothing about basketball, it was obvious how hard Kise and Aomine were facing off. I noticed something change in particular in the third quarter, and I turned to Nakamura to explain, "He's copied Aomine," was his answer.

"Oh, that's right, he has that copying ability thingamajig," I responded.

Nakamura looked at me in disbelief, "You're just remembering that now?"

"Don't judge me, I always view him as an annoying termite, it slipped my mind that he was actually good at something," I said defensively.

Towards the end of the fourth quarter, Kise was on equal footing with Aomine, but I knew the outcome already. Even though that blonde idiot tried his best, the lead that Touou had gotten while Kise was perfecting his copy of Aomine was too much for Kaijo to recover, and we lost by twelve points.

As if that wasn't heartbreaking enough, Kise couldn't stand because of how much strain he put on his legs, so Kasamatsu had to pick him up. I heard him tell Kise that we'll get revenge at the Winter Cup, but it didn't seem to do much consoling for the blonde. I waited for them to go into the locker room before deciding to walk around a bit.

I came across Kagami and Kuroko, who both offered their condolences and I felt as if I was a woman who was just widowed. Next thing you know those two will show up at my door in all black with casseroles. I spaced out while Kuroko went on about how Aomine didn't used to be like this and all the like, I listened, and although I understood more about the situation, I honestly didn't care about Aomine. If anything I kind of hated him right now, because he was making me care about someone that I didn't want to care about.

I came across the vending machine again, and got a drink although I wasn't very thirsty myself. "Here again," a voice said next to me.

I turned to see Imayoshi smiling at me, "It's always the vending machine with us," I said back.

He smiled wider, "Do you mind me asking how exactly you became manager Shira? Momoi mentioned something about a punishment, but that explanation was vague."

"I was failing Japanese History, which coach just so happens to teach," I explained.

He chuckled, "I should have figured it was something like that."

"Yeah, well, I don't have you to make sure I do my work anymore," I joked.

He smiled softly, running his fingers through my hair, "It was nice seeing you again Shira."

And there it was, that awkwardness that only comes from breaking up with someone due to circumstance. There was no fight, no disagreement, no one cheated, we didn't grow apart, one of us just simply went to a high school in another city. It was a feeling of having unfinished business, or that some type of door would always be open to the other person. It was easier for us though, because we were so young and probably didn't even love each other. "It was nice seeing you too Shouichi," I said, walking past him.

Getting closer to the locker room, I spotted Rima comforting Hayakawa and Kobori and Moriyama talking. Sadist sensei was nowhere to be found, but I stopped when I passed by the door of the locker room. Hearing throaty sobs emitting from the door, I peered in to see Kasamatsu crying in the most manly way possible. I closed the door softly and left him alone, it was understandable why he was so upset and I had a feeling that he just needed to be left alone. I found Kise a little bit away from the locker room, tucked away in a small space between another vending machine and a trash can. I walked up to him, and if I hadn't known what he'd just been through, I would've run for the hills because he looked like a zombie. He was still, exhausted, and his eyes were extremely puffy. I walked up to him, crouched down, and pressed the cold drink against his cheek saying, "Here blondie, drink this."

He looked up at me and sniffed, "I wanted to win with everyone."

I sighed, "Yeah well, there'll be other games, and next year you'll have a whole bunch of teammates you'll want to win with, and the year after that, if you stop being so annoying, you might actually become captain, and then you'll have an entire team you'll want to win for."

"You really think I can become captain?" Kise asked.

"Yep, but captain's don't sulk in dark corners when they lose. They cry violently in the locker room for a half an hour, get themselves together, and lead their team to victory in the next game," I answered.

Kise laughed softly, "Senpai, you don't know anything about sports."

I smiled, "True, but a team's like a gang, and I know a lot about gangs."

He smiled back and locked eyes with me, and then didn't look away, "Blondie stop staring, it's creepy."

"Shiracchi," he said.

It took me a moment to register that he meant me, at first I thought he said sriracha and I was wondering if he was okay because nobody normal randomly says the name of a hot sauce in the middle of a conversation. "Yeah?" I replied.

"I think…" he whispered.

"What, I can't hear you," I said.

He looked at me seriously, "Shiracchi, I think I'm in love with you."

I blinked at him, "Come again?"

"I said, I'm in love with you. Please be my girlfriend Shiracchi!" was his reply.

I got up saying, "I...am never doing anything nice for anyone in my life ever again."

I walked away, "Shiracchi, don't just leave me here. I can't walk and you just broke my heart," Kise whined.

"Just stay in the trash where you belong, Yuki will come get you once he's done having his breakdown," I said.

* * *

I walked outside and immediately dialed a number, "Yeah," a voice on the other line picked up.

"I just got confessed to," I said.

"What's new about that?" the voice said.

"The person, that's what's new," I snapped.

"Who was it?" the person asked.

"Kise," I spat out.

"Well?" I asked, after a couple of minutes of silence.

"How do you want me to respond to that?" the voice asked.

"I don't know, maybe show a little concern about your best friend, who was just being seduced by a blonde bimbo who also happens to be _your_ enemy," I replied.

Silence. Again. "Shogo, do something, I don't like it," I whined.

"Don't feel like it," he responded.

I glared at the phone, "You're such an ass, I'm going to punch you in the eye next time I see you," I looked up for a second and saw the team exit and Rima motion for me to come on the bus, "I have to go, love you, bye," I said, hanging up the phone.

* * *

Hey there! I just wanted to thank ayu-chan, amy1945, an Dark angel2155 for their lovely reviews. To amy1945, I had already planned out this chapter when you left

that review and I was like, how did she know Imayoshi and Shira were going to see each other? So props to you for predicting that and I hope Kise was puffy enough

for you.


	16. Chapter 16

There's one thing I miss about Kise. The food that comes for me everyday when he's here. Today, he nor the food are here, because the idiot strained his legs so much that he can barely walk let alone come to school. My stomach misses Kise too, I can tell by the way it's currently growling. I looked at Rima eating her bento with longing in my eyes, "Here, I can't stand you looking at me like that anymore," she said as she shoved food into my mouth.

"Thank you my sweet loli," I said with my mouth full.

Kasamatsu was eating slowly today, but I attribute that to the fact that sadist sensei decided to give the team a week off from practice, or at least the physical part. From what I understand, we still have to go and watch games of upcoming opponents. What joy awaits me after lunch. "Shira, I need you to do something for me after school," he said.

"What's that Yuki?" I asked.

"I need you to drop by Kise's," he answered.

"No way," I replied quickly.

"Coach already said that you can go," he insisted.

"Why am I going in the first place?" I asked.

"A bunch of the members got gifts for him to lift his spirits, but we don't have time to deliver them. You live close by him, don't you?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess I can drop the stuff off," I said lowly.

"What happened between you two anyway? He called me the day after the game at three in the morning, sobbing, and crying about how you had broken his heart," Kasamatsu said.

I turned my head towards the window, "I don't want to talk about it."

"What? Did he confess to you?" Rima joked and laughed.

I looked at her apathetically; she stopped laughing and said in disbelief, "He didn't."

I continued to give her my look of apathy as she started to go in between laughing and going into shock. "What is he, stupid?" Kasamatsu asked.

"That's been established," I replied.

"You still have to go," he said.

"Fine," I grumbled.

The bell rang and we all got up to go to the gym, all of us except Rima that is. I walked up to her desk and grabbed her, "Come on, you can be shocked about this on the way to the gym."

"How...how does this even happen?" Rima asked.

"Don't ask me," I responded.

"What did he say when he confessed?" she asked.

"That he loved me and then he asked me to be his girlfriend," I replied.

"And you said?"

"That I was never doing anything nice for someone in my entire life," I said.

She was quiet for a moment before saying, "And you're not going to consider it at all?"

"No," I answered quickly.

"Isn't that a little harsh?" she asked.

I sighed, "Even if I had those feelings for Kise, which I don't, there are other considerations."

"Which are?" she asked.

"My violent, cornrowed, best friend," I answered.

"Did you tell Haizaki about the confession?"

"Right after."  
"And how did he react to it?"

"Pretty nonchalantly, but that'd be a whole other story if I had done something like accepted the confession," I answered.

I continued, "And I'm pretty sure the hatred between the two is mutual, if Kise knew how big a part of my life Shogo is, he wouldn't want to get involved with me."

"True, but what happens now? It's going to be awkward between the two of you," Rima asked.

"For now, but Kise only thinks he loves me because I'm the only girl at this school who hasn't swooned over him. That feeling will wear off soon and he'll be off with one of his fangirls in a matter of weeks," I answered.

Rima nodded as we walked across the gym and into the clubroom. "Shira, the gifts are over there," Kasamatsu said, pointing at a table full of assorted presents.

I looked at him, "And how do you expect me to carry all of this?"

"You're strong," he answered plainly.

"Yeah, but I'm short and have short arms if you haven't noticed. There's no way I can carry all of this," I said.

"We'll figure out a way," he answered.

That "way" was stuffing everything into about five gym bags and sending me on my merry way. My only saving grace was that this wasn't rush hour, so the train was pretty clear. I was setting down the bags when I felt a vaguely familiar hand brush across my backside. I turned around and saw a scummy businessman who looked to be in his thirties, "Hi there, I've seen you on here before, you're friend's not with you today."

I assume that when he said friend he meant Kise, but I was not in the mood today. I mean, I'm never in the mood to deal with bullshit like this, but I was really not in the mood right now, "Why don't you walk yourself to the other side of the train and leave me the fuck alone," I said stonily.

He came closer to me, leaned down, and whispered in my ear, "Don't be like that, we can have a lot of fun together. I'm a pretty rich guy, you want anything? Clothes? Jewelry? How about we help each other out?"

My eyebrow twitched, and I grabbed his tie, bringing him down to my eye level saying, "I don't need anything from a perverted guy like you," I tightened his tie until he was almost choking and continued, "You are going to go to the other side of this train and sit down. You are not going to speak to me, or look at me, don't even breathe in my direction. Don't give me a reason, cause in one of these bags, there is a loofah sponge that I will choke you with. Don't ask me why a sixteen year old boy would need a loofah sponge, or why a teenage boy would give another teenage boy a loofah sponge, but rest assured that I will kill you with it."

I let him go and he took a couple steps back before walking to the other end of the train like I told him to. I let out a frustrated sigh, the world was full of people trying to take advantage; it was only a couple of weeks ago that I had rescued Kise and now I was dealing with the same thing.

The man got off on the next stop, and I was able to ride the rest of the way in peace. I decided to stop at my house for a better vessel to carry this insane amount of gifts; the vessel being a worn down wagon that my brother used to carry me around town in. I had made it into the garage without any interruption, but that was not the case after I started unloading the presents from the gym bags. "Shi-honey what are you doing in the garage?" my dad asked as he popped his head in the door.

"Hi dad, nothing," I answered.

He looked at the wagon and then began to go off tangent, "This brings back so many memories, I remember when you're brother used to take you everywhere he went, and you say you guys aren't close."

I snorted, "We were close until he moved out, but that was when I was six, so mathematically speaking we haven't been close for two thirds of my life."

"He still loves you Shira," my dad pouted.

"I never said he didn't," I said.

My dad sighed dramatically, "Maybe if he hadn't moved you wouldn't be like this."

"Dad, when will you accept that this is just the way I am, and no matter what you did as a parent, I would have always come out an unorganized, violent, mess?" I asked

"You'll see things differently when you're older," my dad replied.

He looked at the wagon again, "Shi-honey, this doesn't look like nothing."

"They're gifts from people that I got handpicked to deliver to Kise," I said in a fake tone of enthusiasm.

"Gifts for what?" my dad asked.

"The kid jacked up his legs," I answered.

My dad's expression turned to a look of horror, "Oh no, not my boy."

"Dad, he's not your boy, and I have to get going."

His face lit up, "Wait, I have something to give to him."

The "something" that my dad ended up getting was every promotional or extra product my dad had in his possession. It was so much that the wagon, which had previously been a little less than half full, was now filled to the brim. I gave my beaming dad a look of disappointment before I headed out the door and down the street.

When I walked up to the house, I checked the address that Kasamatsu had sent to me. I had never actually been to his house before, all I knew was that it was a little ways down the street from mine. Giving the home a second glance, I could almost tell it was Kise's house without checking the address, it seemed too happy for an object made of drywall and brick. With a grumble, I traveled up the driveway and knocked on the door. What answered was a carbon copy of Kise, but she was a female, "Hi, I'm-" I started.

"Stop right there, I know exactly who you are," she squealed.

"Sissy, come here, right now!" she shouted back into the house.

Another copy appeared and she looked at the the other one, "What?"

"I think it's Haizawa," she answered.

"Are you sure?" the other one asked.

"Of course, look at her eyes," I flinched as she touched my head, "And the hair, it's just like he described."

I had a sneaking suspicion who "he" was, and "he" was getting his ass kicked as soon as he was better. I took a deep breath, "I'm Haizawa, but you can just call me Shira."

"So it is you, come in then!" they said in unison as they dragged me inside.

I was then pulled into a kitchen that smelled heavenly, and I saw the reason why was meat sizzling in a pan. "Are you hungry? Do you want some food?" one of the blondes asked.

"Sure, it smells great," I said.

One made me a plate as the other one said, "You must be hungry, Ryouta says that you don't get lunch, he made a whole stink about how you weren't taking care of yourself."

The other one laughed, "Yeah, he even made us teach him how to make a bento. We offered to just make an extra one, but he insisted that if it was for you, he wanted to make it."

I had gathered from that, that these were Kise's sisters. I blushed slightly at what she said, because I had always believed that his sisters were the ones that were making my lunches, but now I understood why it was so important to him that I thought it tasted good. "He never shuts up about you, you know," one said.

The other one laughed, "It's true, he was all like, senpai this, senpai that, and at first we thought he was talking about Kasamatsu, but he was talking about you."

"You know what we asked him? What's so special about this one girl? How is she different from the other ones that surround you?" one said.

"You know what he said?" the other one asked.

I shook my head, "She hates me," they said simultaneously and then started laughing.

After they were done laughing they asked me what it was that I had left outside, "Oh, that's the reason why I'm here, everyone got him gifts to cheer him up."

"I see," one said.

"But he's not going to care about any of them unless they're from you∼" the other one sang.

"I feel like throwing up," I said under my breath, and smiled in an effort to appear polite.

"Do you want to go and get the gifts and I'll bring the food to the living room? Ryouta can't walk up the stairs that well, so we have him set up in there," one of Kise's sisters asked.

"Sure," I said halfheartedly.

"Ryouta, Haizawa's here!" I heard her shout as I walked back to retrieve the wagon.

I walked back into the house and followed one of Kise's sisters, who was carrying food into the living room. When they said they had set Kise up in the living room, they weren't kidding. Their couch had been converted into a bed/pillow fort with a seemingly endless supply of comforters. When I walked in, Kise was on his side with his head resting on his hand (like I really believed that pose was natural) and he ran his fingers through his hair saying cooly, "Why hello there Shiracchi."

I picked a gift bag from the wagon and threw it at his face saying, "Hello to you too blondie, your face is looking ever so punchable today."

Kise's sister giggled, "Ryouta was right, you are funny."

"I do my best, but it's not easy," I said waving my hand at Kise, "with this as material."

She laughed again and Kise whined, "Senpai, don't be mean to me in front of my sisters."

"So it's alright if we're alone? My, my blondie, what a masochist you've become," I scolded sarcastically.

"Shiracchi-ssu," he whined.

I scrunched up my face in distaste, if ever there was such a thing as too much of someone in a sentence that was it. I couldn't deal with the nickname and the stupid ending combined. "Ryouta, why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Kise's sister suddenly asked.

Looking at him, I realized he was shirtless, which I had seen so many times it was more rare for me to see him fully clothed, "Didn't feel like it."

"Put on a shirt right now Ryouta, it isn't decent for you to be half naked around a girl!" his sister demanded.

I suppressed a laugh at her serious tone that was accompanied by puffed up cheeks and a quivering lip. Kise dove under the comforters and a muffled, "No," was heard.

Kise's sister sighed and looked at me, "I have to go to work, can you get him a shirt from his room?"

I sighed back, "I guess."

She smiled widely, "Great! I have a feeling that you'd be able to convince him better than me anyway∼"

She left and I headed up the stairs based on the assumption that his room was on the second floor of the house. I passed by the master bedroom, the two pink rooms, and walked into the last room. Kise's room was painted a light blue, which surprised me because it was so calm and I thought for sure the blonde would have gone for a much more cheerful color. The room was neat and bare, it looked barely lived in which made sense because Kise had school, basketball, modeling, and had a pretty active social life. It's very probable that the only thing he does here is sleep. I opened the closet, and seeing something that disturbed me, grabbed the nearest shirt I could find and slammed it shut.

I walked back down the stairs and into the living room, where Kise had emerged from his blanket fortress. "You look like a cockatoo," I said, smoothing down his hair.

He blushed and looked down, I sighed and threw the shirt at him saying, "Put this on, blondie."

He obeyed and I stood over him for a good couple of minutes before I said, "Blondie, I have to ask you something serious."

He looked up at me, "What?"

"Why is there a poster of me in your closet?" I said in a low voice.

Kise turned the shade of a tomato before managing to say in a whisper, "I got it from your fanclub."

I sighed in exasperation, "I didn't ask where you got it, although that should be something I'm concerned about, I asked why you have it."

Kise puffed out his cheeks and yelled defensively, "Is it so wrong to want to have a picture of the person you love!?"

I sat down next to him, "No, but it's creepy."

Kise pouted and sniffed, "But the only other picture I have of Shiracchi is the one on my phone-ssu."

I suddenly felt a little bad for the poor kid; Kise continued, "I thought of blowing it up into a huge poster and putting it above my bed, but I'm still waiting for the printer to quote me a price," and just like that, the feeling was gone.

"That's creepier," I said.

Kise's whole disposition changed and he smiled happily saying, "Oh well, at least I have your yearbook photo; I cut it out and put it in my wallet so you'll always be with me. You look really grumpy, but it's cute because it's you-ssu!"

"Kise, you are aware that me walking away was a rejection right?" I asked.

His face dropped slightly, "Yeah."

"People usually give up and move on after a rejection blondie," I said.

Kise smiled softly, "I'm not mature enough to just accept that, plus, I've never been rejected before."

"Kuroko, Aomine, Midorima, Yuki-" I started listing.

"From a girl!" Kise interrupted.

"Are you sure that's not the only reason why you're so adamant about this?" I asked him.

"Whatever you might think Shiracchi, I am in love with you, and not because you treat me differently than other girls, it's just because you're you," Kise responded.

He continued, "I've been consulting Midorimacchi about our compatibility."

"But he hates you," I interjected.

"I bribed him with a lucky item but that's besides the point. Midorimacchi said that one of the problems gemini and capricorn have is that gemini are ready to commit to something right away while capricorns are more cautious and take a long time to decide whether or not to enter a relationship," Kise said.

"You're point is?" I asked.

Kise looked at me seriously, "Shiracchi, I'll wait for you to fall in love with me."

"You'll be waiting for eternity then," I said.

"That's fine, as long as I get to spend it by your side," Kise answered.

I smacked him on the back of the head, "We talked about you saying things that make me want to kill you."

"Shiracchi that's mean!" Kise whined.

"Whatever," I said, taking a bite out of the food.

Kise pouted and rubbed his head as he turned on the tv; a familiar tune started playing and I looked up at the screen to see the soap opera playing, "Is this last week's episode?" I asked.

Kise nodded, "I recorded it because I knew I'd miss it during the Interhigh."

We were watching for a couple of minutes when Kise mumbled, "I understand now why she's having an affair with the butler."

"Do you now?" I asked.

Kise nodded, "They're in love, I'd do the same thing if it were you."

"Either that or make every man so uncomfortable by my presence that they wouldn't get as far as asking you to marry them," Kise added.

"That's every girl's dream," I said sarcastically.

* * *

Hi there! I just wanted to thank ayu-chan for another witty review, and amy1945 for yours. It is not wrong at all that part of you ships Imayoshi and Shira, I left

chemistry between the two on purpose so Kise would be jealous, so that is completely understandable. To be honest, Imayoshi is the third person I would ship her

with, and he's only third because _someone_ pushes himself into second (but that's later in the story). Thank you for your continued support, feedback is always

welcome, and I hope everyone who reads this enjoys it.


	17. Chapter 17

I cursed the weather, but blessed my dad for making me bring an umbrella. Don't get me wrong, I love the rain as much as the next person, but this current downpour was ungodly. Especially since I had to trudge myself all the way to Tokyo because I had promised Kiyoshi I would visit today. I could call him and cancel because of the weather and he, being the sweetness that he is, would understand, but visiting Seirin was a perfect excuse to spend a little time away from Kise, who had been super clingy since he confessed. Today, he had wanted to walk me home because, "_A walk in the rain with the one you love is so romantic-ssu"_. Thankfully, Kiyoshi had provided me with a perfect excuse to escape Kise's attempts to woo me.

I had reached Seirin pretty quickly given that the trains and streets were pretty uncrowded because of the rain. I walked into the gym, "Hey guys," I said, closing my umbrella.

Kiyoshi jogged up to me and gave me a hug saying, "Hi Shira."

He let me go, "You're cold."

I shivered, "Yeah, well, outside is cold, I have been outside, therefore I am cold."

"Hello Shira-kun," Kuroko said, coming up to me.

"Hi my sweet panda," I said as I pinched his cheeks.

"Shira-kun, you're hands are cold," he said.

"Yes, I am cold, that has been established," I responded.

"Wait, I have an idea," I said walking over to Kagami.

I slid both my hands under his shirt and onto his back, "Cold!" he shouted as he flinched.

"Ahh, I was right, teenage boys are like little personal heaters," I said.

Kagami made a move to attempt to get my frozen hands off his back, but the whole room grew quiet at the sound of someone coming into the gym. Everyone turned to the intruder, who was a sopping wet, pink haired teen. She immediately tackled Kuroko, and I breathed a sigh of relief that he was there and she was not attacking me. "Momoi-kun, please let go of me," Kuroko said.

When she let go of him, that was when it was obvious that she had been crying. Unfortunately for her, emotional support would have to wait because her white shirt had been soaked through, revealing her bra, and she was in a room full of teenage boys whose eyes were instantly glued to her chest. Luckily, Riko dragged her off and lent her a shirt, not that it fit that well. Seeing that she was still crying I asked her, "Why are you so upset?"

"He's such a jerk!" she yelled.

"Who?" I asked.

"Dai-chan?" she sniffed.

"Blueberry pie?" I asked for confirmation.

She nodded, "What did he do?" Kuroko asked.

Momoi sniffed again, and then began her sad tale about how Aomine's knees were messed up from his match with Kise so she asked the coach to bench him, and then Aomine, being the asshole that he is, just had to be a baby about it and hurt her feelings. Kuroko tried telling her that he didn't mean what he said, but it didn't seem to be working. Being an expert at consoling girls who have been hurt by an asshole guy, I decided to jump in, "Well he's an ass, don't expect too much from him."

Momoi looked up at me with tears streaming down her face, "Does Haizaki ever treat you like this?"  
I took a minute to reply, "Nope, but that's probably because he's scared of me."

I continued, "If he said something like that to me I'd punch him in the face."

Momoi sniffed, "I threw a couple books at him."

"Now that's a good start, but I would suggest doing something that would leave a bruise," I said.

"Shira-kun, please stop preaching violence," Kuroko said.

"I can't, it's who I am," I said.

"Just go talk to him, give him a chance to apologize," Kuroko said to Momoi.

"Okay," Momoi responded.

She went to go get her shirt, which had dried, and I followed her saying, "I'll walk with you, I'm headed in the same direction and I have an umbrella."  
She nodded and got ready quickly, and we headed out together, "I heard Ki-chan confessed to you," she said out of the blue.

"Yeah," I sighed.

"So?" she asked.

"So what?" I asked back.

"Are you going to accept?" she asked.

"No," I answered.

"Why not, Ki-chan's such a nice guy," she whined.

"If you think he's such a nice guy why don't you date him?" I asked.

"Because my heart is already taken by my Kuroko," Momoi swooned.

I chuckled, "Seriously though, why not?" she asked again.

"Because I don't feel that way about him, and are we completely forgetting about Shogo in this situation?" I asked.

"No, but Shogo shouldn't decide who you do and don't go out with," Momoi said.

"What if the situation were reversed and it was you and Aomine?" I asked.

She was silent and I went on, "You're hopelessly in love with Kuroko, but you didn't go to the same high school as him because of Aomine. Why? Because you may be in love with Kuroko, but you're loyalties lie with Aomine. Please don't expect anything different from me."

"That's true, I just thought you two would make a cute couple," she said.

"I know," I said as we approached the station.

"Shira senpai," she said.

"What," I asked.

"I've been thinking of ways to punish Aomine," she said.

"I like where this conversation is going," I responded.

"Can you help me?" she asked.

I cracked my knuckles, "Hell yes, just name a time and place and I'll kick his ass."

"No, nothing violent," she protested.

The smile that I had plastered on my face disappeared, "What can I help you with then?"

"You're Kaijo's manager because you're bad a Japanese History right?" she asked.

"That is correct," I answered.

"Japanese History just so happens to be the only subject Dai-chan is good at!" she said excitedly.

"Not so sure I like where this conversation is going anymore," I said.

"I want Dai-chan to tutor you," Momoi said.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," I said.

"Please, he'll hate it," Momoi begged.

"I don't know," I said, scratching my head.

"Pretty please, you'll get to make fun of him the whole time," she pleaded.

"I guess," I gave in.

She pulled me into a strong hug, "Thank you Shira senpai, I'll tell Dai-chan to text you."

"I'll be looking forward to it," I said sarcastically.

"I have to go, my train's about to pull out," I said.

"That's what he said," I chuckled.

"Shira senpai…" Momoi looked at me in a disappointment.

"I'm sorry, disregard that joke," I said as I got on my train.

The train ride was long, cold, and horrible. I was relieved when I got home and was able to bundle myself up in warm blankets. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and took it out:

**6:37 pm:** _what up cutie_

**6:38 pm: **_hey blueberry pie_

**6:39 pm:** _how did you know it was me?_

**6:41 pm:** _no one else calls me cutie_

**6:41 pm:** _they wouldn't dare_

**6:42 pm:** _satsuki is making me tutor you _

**6:43 pm:** _I am aware _

**6:46 pm:** _saturday, shibacoffee, Kawasaki at 10_

* * *

The day that Aomine and I had agreed to meet, the weather was better than the day he had texted me, but it was still a drizzling wet mess. I felt the gray sky reflected my attitude towards this whole event, because I was so looking forward to spending hours on end discussing history with blueberry pie. I stopped walking and stood on the street in realization, "My nicknames are confusing," I said to myself.

I continued walking, the Kawasaki area was completely foreign to me, but luckily I had my phone's gps to guide me. I was surprised that Aomine had actually been quite considerate when he picked out the place to meet, because it's almost exactly halfway between Tokyo and Kanagawa. Aomine is a total closet tsundere.

I entered the coffee shop he texted me and was surprised to see him already there (I totally thought he'd be late). I walked up to him, "Hey cutie," he said.

"Sup blueberry," I said back.

"Tch, don't call me that," he grumbled.

"I can always call you ganguro instead," I replied snarkily.

I took off my jacket and before sitting down, placed my cold hands on Aomine's face, "Ahh, teenage boy warmth," I said.

Aomine smirked, "I have warmer places that you can touch."  
I pinched his cheeks saying, "Aww, is wittle baby blueberry trying to flirt?" I said in baby talk.

He brushed my hands away as I laughed, "But you're way warmer than Kagami," I said mischievously.

"Of course I am," he growled.

There goes another one, growling when I mention another teenage boy; I marvel at the fact that the teenage boy can be so simple yet so complex. "Maybe it's that dark colors retain heat better than lighter ones," I said.

It took a moment to register, but when it did, he just looked at me. Whether he looked at me with contempt or in amazement at how good that joke was the world will never know. He grunted and then said, "Did you bring your textbook like I told you?"  
Internally groaning because I had momentarily forgotten why I had come here in the first place, I slowly got out the book and placed it on the table, "Can we eat first?" I asked.

"No," he answered.

"Why?" I whined.

"Because you're using it as an excuse not to do this," he said gruffly.

"Why do you care? Why can't we just pretend that you tutored me?" I asked.

His glare turned evil, "Because, Satsuki is punishing me, and if I have to be in pain, you have to be in pain with me."

"All history teachers are sadists," I stated.

"Shut up and open your book," he responded.

"Fine," I grumbled.

To my complete and utter shock, Aomine was a great teacher. And when I say great, I mean really great; as in he just made me fall in love with Japanese History. Maybe it was because it was one on one, but he taught better than Takeuchi-sensei ever did. I smirked, "You're really passionate about this stuff aren't you?"

"No," he stuttered.

"That was a tsundere yes," I said smiling.

"Tch, whatever," he said looking away from me.

I looked down at my book, "Hey," Aomine said.

"Hmm?" I asked.

"Momoi asked me to ask you if you wanted to go shopping sometime," he said.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"You heard me," Aomine said.

"Why didn't she just text me, she has my number," I asked.

"She's not good with other girls," Aomine said.

I looked at him questioningly, "I mean that she doesn't have a lot of friends that are girls."

I kept looking at him, "Because of me."

"I see, that's understandable; I have the same issue with my best friend."

"You're best friend, isn't she that other flat chested chick?" he asked.

"No," I laughed, "I almost forgot, you're one of the ones that never got him."

"Who?" he asked.

"Haizaki Shogo, that's who my best friend is," I answered.

Aomine had a look of shock on his face, "Although I get the feeling girls don't like Momoi's close relationship with you because they want to date you, whereas with me it's more like Shogo's run through most of the girls at school and they despise him and I get the leftover hate," I added.

"Does Kise know?" he asked.

"No, but that's for the best right?" I answered.

Aomine sighed, "Yeah, knowing Kise he'd do something stupid like try to be friends with the guy."

"Or monitor our friendship to make sure he's treating me right," I added.

"Either way," Aomine said.

"Kise would get beat up," I finished.

"You're finished with the chapter," Aomine observed.

"You're right, can we get food now?" I asked.

Aomine nodded his head, and we decided to go to the nearest Maji Burger. Aomine ordered an insane amount of teriyaki burgers, which eerily reminded me of Kagami, and I got a cheeseburger and some fries. When Aomine was down to only five burgers, we agreed to walk around for a little bit because neither of us had been to the area before. We passed by a bakery and I went in saying, "Ooh, cupcakes."

"This isn't a date," I heard behind me.

I glared back at the tall blueberry, "I know that, I would be excited about the cake in cup formation with icing on top regardless of your presence."

Aomine just scoffed in response, "If you insist on being so negative in such a heavenly place you can leave," I told him.

"The cupcakes don't need your bad vibes," I added.

He grunted as I purchased a batch of chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting. When we left and started walking again, I had this idea that kind of how people say to throw lamps at people who need to lighten up, if I smushed a cupcake in Aomine's face he would become sweeter. It did not work, and it only succeeded in Aomine chasing me down the street.

I stopped in a park after five minutes because I don't run, and I especially don't run in heels. I turned around to see Aomine slowly coming towards me in a menacing manner, "C'mere Shira, give me a kiss."

"Nah, I'm good," I said.

He made a move to grab me and I dodged him and pushed his face into a water fountain next to us. I turned it on, effectively washing off the remnants of the cupcake off his face. I laughed as he stood back up, "Did you enjoy your bath blueberry?"

I didn't give him time to respond before I said, "You know what they always say, wash your fruit before eating," I then proceeded to laugh too hard at my own joke.

Aomine laughed, "You know cutie, you just said you were going to eat me."

"Well, my jokes never end up reflecting well on me," I said.

"Excuse me, you're blocking the fountain," a guy behind us said.

We apologized and got out of the way, the guy looked at Aomine saying, "You're pretty tall, do you play basketball? We're down one man, wanna join?"

"Not interested," Aomine said quickly.

"Aw, come on blueberry," I said.

He looked at me, "What's the point, the only one who can beat me is me."

I snorted when he said that line, "First of all, that saying will cause you to grow old with no one but a dog, and basketball's like sex, there's not really a point, it's just supposed to be fun."

He smiled slightly and I pushed him to the court saying, "I knew I'd get to you with something perverted, now come on, I've watched these street games a hundred times with Shogo, although it might be nice to not have everyone try and beat us up at the end of the game."

The game started, and it was no surprise that the team that Aomine was on easily beat the other one, and he wasn't even trying. He walked over to me afterwards, "See? I told you."

"Why so grumpy?" I asked him.

"It's the same everywhere," he said.

"Dude chill, it's just basketball. If you want to feel inferior at something just ask Momoi, I'm sure she has a list somewhere of all the things you're bad at," I joked.

"Or you could try a different sport, what about volleyball, or swimming? I'd love to see that cinnamon tan in a speedo," I said and winked.

He laughed, "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a voice said behind us.

I turned around, and guess who the voice belonged too? If you guessed Kise then you would be right. "What are you doing here blondie?" I asked.

He walked slowly toward us, "I was on a job nearby and was texting Momoi, who just so happened to mention that you were here as well," he glared at Aomine, "with him," he ended with malice.

"Yeah, he was tutoring me," I said.

"I could have tutored you-ssu," Kise whined.

"Are you kidding me blondie? Besides English, your grades suck ass, and you're not even taking Japanese History," I said.

"Are you that insecure _blondie_?" Aomine asked laughing.

Kise grabbed my arm, "We're going."

He dragged me all the way to the station and pouted most of the way home. "I just don't understand why it had to be Aominecchi," he whined.

"Are you jealous cause he's a better basketball player?"

Kise looked offended, "Are you saying that he's better than me?"

"No, I was just asking," I said.

"So mean Shiracchi," he said, leaning his head on my shoulder.

"Do you want a cupcake?" I asked him.

"Yes please-ssu," he answered and I got one out of the bag and brought it to his mouth, which was still frowning.

"I'm sorry Shiracchi, you just seem to get along so well with Aominecchi," Kise mumbled with his mouth full.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He nuzzled further into my neck, "It's how people see you and me and they can tell we're almost complete opposites and bicker a lot, but with Aominecchi they see how well you guys get along."

"That's expected, we're a lot alike," I said.

"I know, but I don't like it," he whined.

I sighed, "Why?"

"Because you two look like a better couple than you and I, and it pisses me off," Kise said coldly.

He wrapped his arms around me and mumbled, "I don't really care about basketball, but I really don't want to lose to Aominecchi when it comes to you."

I petted his head, "You really are something, you know that blondie?"

* * *

Hi there! I want to thank Amethyst for that nice review, I'm so happy to have your support and I'm so glad you like my sense of humor. Reviews like yours give me

life and are really encouraging. To amy1945, if you couldn't tell from the chapter, the person who is now 85% responsible for making Kise jealous is a certain slice

of blueberry pie with a sexy cinnamon tan. *hint hint* It is only going to get worse for Kise. And thank you for the comment about the dialogue because I am

definitely less of a descriptive writer and more dialogue based, so that remark went straight to my soul and made me so happy! Thank you to everyone who follows,

favorites, or just takes the time out to read this story, your feedback is always welcome and appreciated, and I hope everyone continues to enjoy this.


	18. Chapter 18

"Shiracchi."

"Shirachhi"

"Shiracchi."

"You look so peaceful when you're sleeping," I heard a voice sigh.

I groaned and opened my eyes slowly, adjusting to the morning light and the bright yellow that I registered was Kise. "Blondie, what are you doing here?" I asked as I yawned.

"To get you for the basketball game," he answered.

"We don't have a basketball game today," I grumbled.

He chuckled, "Not ours silly, it's one of Seirin's matches."

"Who are they playing?" I asked.

"Kirisaki Daiichi-ssu," he answered cheerily.

I looked at my ceiling, closed my eyes, and said,"I'm not going."

"What!?" Kise half yelled and whined.

I turned on my side, "You heard me, I'm not going, and due to your delicate nature I would advise you not to go either."

"Delicate nature? I'm a man," I heard him say, and then opened one of my eyes to see him with one of the most pouty faces I've seen in my life.

"How did you even get in here?" I asked.

"I ran into your dad on the way in here. He said he had to go to the airport and was sorry that he couldn't make breakfast for me, but he was nice enough to let Kasamatsu senpai and I in," Kise said smiling.

"Yuki's here?" I asked.

Kise nodded, "I left him downstairs."

I frowned, "I guess I'm being forced to go then?"

Kise nodded and smiled widely, "I'll make you breakfast though."

"You truly do know the way to my heart blondie, at this rate you might actually get me to fall in love with you in the next couple of decades," I said getting out of bed.

"Progress-ssu," Kise said to himself.

"Blondie, are you coming?" I asked as I walked out of my room.

"Yes! Wait...Shiracchi, why are you always half naked!" he yelled after me.

I walked down the stairs and into the living room, where Kasamatsu was standing awkwardly, "There you ar-," he said as he turned around to face me.

"WHAT TH-H-E HELL ARE YOU DOING? WHY AREN'T YOU WEARING ANY CLOTHES?!" he yelled at me.

I flinched at his loudness, "Excuse you, I am wearing clothes," I said tugging on my t-shirt.

Kasamatsu's face was red, "Yeah, but you can't just walk around in your underwear!" he angrily whispered to me.

"It's my house, I can walk around naked if I want to, but if you must know, my dad has this obsession with making our house "cozy" which roughly translates into transforming this house into a sauna I can't escape from. If I didn't take off my pants, I'd have died of heatstroke. Is that what you want Yuki?" I said.

Before he could respond, Kise bounded down the stairs and grabbed me yelling, "Kasamatsu senpai, you can't look! Shiracchi's panties are for my eyes only!"

"Did you just say panties?" I asked in a muffled voice because Kise was suffocating me with his chest.

"Yes, why?" he asked.

"I don't know, I just don't like that word. It sounds dainty, and I'm not dainty," I explained.

"I don't know which one of you is more ridiculous," Kasamatsu sighed in exasperation.

"They're black, just like I imagined~" Kise sang as his right hand traveled down my back and timidly cupped my rear end, and then making a hasty retreat, "Blondie, did you just cop a feel?" I asked in disbelief.

I could tell he was blushing because his cheek felt hot on mine, "Sorry senpai, I just couldn't help it," he muttered into my neck.

"Kise," Kasamatsu said in a stern tone.

"I don't know whether to be mad at you or proud. I honestly didn't think you had it in you kid," I said.

"Shira, stop praising such lewd behavior," Kasamatsu said in a chiding tone.

"You know, I feel like Kuroko just said that to me about violence," I said.

"He probably did, you are a horrible senpai," Kasamatsu said frustratedly.

"Not gonna argue with that one," I said.

"Whatever, Kise, go cook breakfast, and you," he said pointing at me, "Go put some clothes on."

"Aye Aye captain," I answered and fake saluted him.

He glared at me, "Hey, if you're going to act like a captain off the court, I'm going to call you captain off the court," I said in response to his glare.

He scowled at me as I went back into my room. I would normally slip on my favorite jeans and a shirt, but since the weather has betrayed my almost entirely black wardrobe, I opted for a pair of black shorts and kept the blue shirt I was wearing. Walking into the kitchen, I saw Kasamatsu scowl at me and twitch his eyebrows, pointing to Kise and asking, "WHY?"

I looked over at Kise, who was standing at the stove, happily humming away. I almost lost it when I saw that he was wearing the pink apron and giggling, I asked, "Blondie, why are you wearing that?"

He looked back at me and smiled, "I planned on cooking, so I brought it from home-ssu."

"Well, there's your answer," I said to Kasamatsu as I sat down at the table.

He grumbled to himself and sat down across from me, "All done~" Kise sang as he placed a plate of blueberry pancakes in front of us.

"These are good," I said as I chewed.

Kise blushed, "Really? I asked my sisters to teach me how to make them."

"Hold up, I have to take a picture of these and send them to someone," I said taking out my phone.

"Would that _someone_ be Aominecchi," Kise growled.

I was surprised at his accuracy, "Yes, yes it would be."

Kise narrowed his eyes, "Why are you texting him?"  
"Because this is one of many beautiful moments that I can harass him about his hair and skin," I said.

"Fine, but be careful, he's bad news," Kise said as he aggressively chewed a piece of pancake.

I almost snorted when he called Aomine bad news because compared to some of my closest friends, he might as well be Kise. I suppressed it though, because Kise already looked annoyed enough without reminding him that I was bad news as well. I sent the picture and was graced with a response not even two minutes later.

**8:23 am:** _What the hell is that supposed to be?_  
**8:25 am:** _You don't know? It's you, in pancake form_

**8:26 am:** _screw you cutie_

**8:27 am:** _btw are you coming to the game today?_

**8:30 am: **_Yea, Kise woke me up at the crack of dawn. Who did you think made the pancakes?_

**8:31 am:** _I can ask him if he was thinking of you while he was making them. I'm a great wingman like that_

**8:32 am**: _see you at the game cutie_

I looked up from my phone, "You better fix that attitude blondie, cause Aomine's going to be at the game."

Kise frowned exaggeratedly, "Well, he's not sitting with us."

* * *

"Why is he sitting with us?!" Kise whined.

"Heh, do I bother you Kise?" Aomine asked as he put his arm around my shoulder.

"You bother everyone," Kise said childishly.

"Do I bother you cutie?" Aomine said into my ear.

"Yes you do, and please stop calling her cutie, it's insulting," Kise answered for me.

"I can call her whatever I want," Aomine said.

"How about you both call her nothing and shut the hell up," Kasamatsu said from the other side of Kise.

"I concur," I said as I sipped my drink.

"I'll be quiet if he moves-ssu," Kise pouted.

"I'd be happy to oblige ya," Imayoshi voiced.

"That's even worse!" Kise snapped.

"Fine, I'll sit next to Shira senpai," Momoi spoke up.

I turned around and grabbed the hand of the only person I think I could stand for the next two hours and yanked him over to Aomine, who begrudgingly moved. "Why Susa?" Momoi whined.

"Because he is quiet, not irritating, and his name is fun to say," I responded.

I sighed and internally thanked the tall brunette for existing, Aomine and Imayoshi were out because Kise would just throw a hissy fit the entire time, Wakamatsu was a louder version of Aomine, and that Sakurai kid was adorable, but he kept muttering about how sorry he was and I didn't know if I could handle that. "The match is about to start," I heard Kasamatsu mumble on the side.

I looked down at the court and saw that both teams were almost done warming up. My heart seized when I saw Hanamiya approach Kiyoshi, and when Hyuuga, Kagami, and Kuroko backed him, "I feel like I'm going to vomit," I grumbled.

"Ehh?! Shiracchi are you sick?" Kise asked me worriedly.

I glanced at him, "In a way."

My gaze shifted to Imayoshi, who just smiled in response. I knew he wasn't going to be much comfort in my disgust of violence over something as trivial as basketball; he wouldn't frown at Hanamiya's type of play, he enjoyed it. The fact that he enjoyed it so much was one of the reasons Hanamiya didn't like him, he did violent but he didn't deal with master creeps like Imayoshi. When the first half started, it didn't take long for Hanamiya's underhanded style of basketball to emerge, and it was not a way of basketball that was accepted by most around me, "What the hell," Kise managed to say, while Kasamatsu just scowled.

"Get used to it, it's only going to get worse," I said to him.

And worse it became, I saw Hara elbow Kagami in the abdomen, to which Kagami responded by almost punching him. Thankfully, Kuroko was there to trip him and remind him to keep his temper in check. "This is horrible-ssu," Kise said.

"Only going to get worse," I repeated.

"What do ya expect from Hana?" Imayoshi asked.

"I don't care what type of person he is, he's completely ignoring the integrity of the game," Aomine grumbled.

I reached over and grabbed both Kise's and Aomine's faces, "Ah, my little basketball idiots, my little cinnamon rolls, too good for this world, too pure."

"You kind of look like a cinnamon roll," I said to Aomine.

"Shut up and watch the game," Aomine snapped.

"I don't want to, it'll only get worse," I mumbled.

And worser and worser it grew. Kiyoshi had completely directed all the rough play to himself and was taking shot after shot. Kise unconsciously wrapped his hand around mine while his eyes remained locked on the game with a worried vigilance. It was a snap I couldn't hear, but one that I could see Hanamiya make, as he smiled devilishly. I blinked and held my eyes closed as soon as I saw him do that, and I kept them closed until I heard a thud of someone hitting the ground and in part had to open my eyes because Kise had squeezed my hand so tight, my knuckles had cracked. When I opened them, Kiyoshi had gotten back up, seemingly still able to play.

I breathed a sigh of relief when the buzzer announced the halftime break. I attempted to get up and go to the bathroom, but Kise was still clutching onto my hand in a daze,"Blondie," I said.

That seemed to snap him out of his thoughts, "Sorry," he mumbled as he let go of my hand.

I walked to the girl's bathroom, which was way overcrowded and I deemed it impossible to wait in line and make it back in time before the end of the break. Looking to my right, I surveyed a much more time effective solution. Opening the door I discovered I was right, only two people were in there, and coincidentally I knew both of them. "What the hell are you doing in here?" a gruff voiced asked me.

"Girls feel the need to pee in packs, which means if I waited in there I wouldn't go to the bathroom till the end of the century," I replied.

"Why feeling shy all of a sudden?" I joked, "Or," I said looking at the other person, "Am I interrupting a private moment between the two of you?"

"Don't be ridiculous," the gruff voice said quickly.

"Shi-chan, it's a surprise to see you here," Hanamiya said.

"Are you an idiot? She just explained why she was in here," Aomine broke in.

We both looked at him, but I chose to ignore it, "I was forced, you know I hate watching your games Hana-chan."

Hanamiya smiled, "Of course I do, I really enjoy your displeasure though."

I smiled softly at him, "You're great in a fight, but you're a horrible person Makoto."

Hanamiya turned the sink off and grabbed my waist saying, "Ahh, you know me so well princess," before walking around me and out the door.

"Do you make a habit of keeping bad company?" Aomine asked me.

I walked up to him, "I do, because I'm bad company myself. It'd be best if you remembered that I'm not some little girl who has a thing for bad boys. I'd snap your knees in half just as easy if you crossed me because the only difference between Makoto and I, is that I need a reason."

"I'll remember," Aomine said quietly.

"Good. Oh, and before you make a perverted and sarcastic remark about you being exposed right now, I'm going to let you know I grew up with an older brother who never got the concept of locking a door when he was a teenager, so I don't care," I said as I walked into a stall.

I was extremely satisfied with the blush that had spread across Aomine's face when I said that and I was planning on making fun of him for it, but he had disappeared by the time I was finished. I washed my hands and returned to my seat where Kise was anxiously waiting, "Shiracchi, what took you so long? What happened to your shirt?"

I looked down at my shirt, which was still wet where Hanamiya had grabbed me, "I interrupted an intimate moment and it wasn't well received," I said, smirking at Aomine.

Kise frowned, "Be more careful next time, and sit down, the second half's about to start-ssu."

The second half began, and it honestly wasn't looking good for Seirin. Kuroko had been subbed out for Koganei and Seto had been put into the game, and that telling smile Hanamiya had told me things were going his way. Things looked dark for a while, but Kuroko came back in, and much to my relief, Kiyoshi was subbed out. Seirin was able to make a comeback and defeated Kirisaki Daiichi by six points. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding as Kise sighed, "I'm so glad."

I got up and stretched, "I'm going to walk around a little," I said, my intentions being that I wanted to talk to either Kiyoshi or Hanamiya.

"I'll come with you!" Kise jumped after me excitedly.

We walked in silence and I wandered around until I came upon a back alley I thought Hanamiya might be in. "Shiracchi, what are we doing here?" Kise asked me.

I looked at the only decoration in the otherwise bare alley; a lonely dumpster, "What are you talking about? This is where you belong," I said looking at it.

"Shiracchi, that's mean," Kise whined.

"Zawa," a voice called out to us.

Shivers went down my spine and I internally groaned because only one person in the world called me that, "Takeda," I answered coldly.

I looked over to see a tall, lanky guy with slicked back black hair and beady purple eyes, "Aw, how cold, you're not even using our pet names."

Let me explain, the nickname "Zawa" was given to me when I was a kid because of the closeness of Takeda's and I's last name, his being Haizami and his nickname being "Zami". Shogo was also a part of this trio, his nickname being "Zaki"; Takeda was a couple years older than me, and we got along during elementary school, that was until we were old enough to become aware that our families were bitter enemies.

Bear with me now, because this is going to start sounding like some tv drama, but it's unfortunately my life, and part of the reason I was a little glad we moved away from Shizuoka, because I haven't had to deal with this since then. You see, my mom is an "ex" gang member because she doesn't participate in the life anymore, but you can't really dissociate from the gang when your family's the head of it. The Haizami family is head of another gang, and I'm told that up until some sixty or so years ago our two families didn't have a problem with one another. That was until my grandma, who was engaged to Takeda's grandpa, fell in love with mine and ran away with him. Since then, the two families have hated each other, and it is my personal opinion that the whole thing is stupid. "Who is this guy? And why do you have nicknames for each other?" Kise asked me concerned.

"Scram blondie," Takeda said as he glowered at Kise.

Kise narrowed his eyes, "Like hell I'd ever leave Shiracchi alone with someone as shady as you, and my name's Kise."

"I'm only allowed to call him blondie. Anyway Takeda, are we really going through this again?" I said annoyed.

"We'll always go through this, until your family restores the honor they took from us," he growled.

Kise glanced at me questioningly, but I rolled my eyes saying, "And how exactly am _I _supposed to do that? What do you want, me to marry you?"

He smirked and walked closer to me, "Are you offering?"

"I can answer that. No." Kise interjected.

Takeda's gaze shifted over to Kise, "How about you leave us alone, _Kise."_

"I already said I'm not leaving, now let's go Shiracchi," Kise said grabbing my arm.

He tried to guide me out of the alley, but was cut off by a group of guys. I wasn't surprised, Takeda never went anywhere without his lackeys who didn't have 5 iq points between them, "Blondie, you need to go," I told him.

He shook his head and looked at me wildly, "I'm not leaving you."

Takeda came up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder saying, "She told you to leave."

Kise narrowed his eyes, "Get your hand off her," he said angrily as he smacked away Takeda's hand.

"Kise no," I said, knowing Takeda's temper, and not ten seconds afterwards I saw his fist connect with Kise's face, and then saw Kise hit the ground; knocked unconscious. "Takeda, only I am allowed to hit this golden french fry," I seethed.

"I feel like I've been through this with you before," a new voice said.

Everyone looked over to the owner, who I immediately recognized as Hanamiya. Chaos erupted then, because Hanamiya had been a participant of several altercations between me and Takeda. I was thankful he showed up though, because there was about fifteen guys, and I said it once and I'll say it again, Hanamiya is a horrible person but is great in a fight. He has a knack for injuring people very easily and without effort. Even though I was glad he was there, it was still pretty sucky odds, and one very irritating goon got a couple hits to my ribs with a baseball bat. It all got out of hand though, when Takeda took it to another level and grabbed a switchblade; stabbing Hanamiya in the stomach, "ZAMI!" I screamed at him.

He looked at me, then turned away saying, "Tch, let's get out of here."

"But boss, what about Lin, both his legs are broken?" one of the goons asked him.

"Leave him here, he's worthless like that anyway," Takeda said walking away.

When all of them left except the incapacitated one, Hanamiya and I faced each other, "Thanks Makoto," I said.

"No problem, one of the reasons I love hanging around you is all the opportunities for violence," Hanamiya replied.

I looked down at his jersey, which was now soaked in blood, "You should probably go to the hospital."

"You too, you can't walk with your ribs," he said, commenting on my stillness and me holding myself up with my arms.

"Yeah, and Kise," I said turning to the still unconscious blonde.

Hanamiya slowly walked over to Kise and felt his wrist, "He still has a pulse, so he's not dead."

He walked back over to me, "Shira."

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I'm not feeling too well," he said in a low voice.

I looked at his eyes lose light as he started to sway and fall towards me, "Somebody help!" I yelled, not being able to catch him as he fell towards me.

I closed my eyes in anticipation of him falling on top of me, only to feel nothing. I opened my eyes to see Kiyoshi propping Hanamiya up, "What happened here?" he asked as he swung Hanamiya's arms over his shoulder, placed a hand underneath his legs, and picked him up. "Umm, should you really be doing that with your knees?" I asked.

"Probably not," he said grinning.

"That's just great, blondie's passed out on the ground, Makoto's bleeding out, my ribs may be cracked, and our savior has knee problems. Our little group is great, really, just the perfect picture of health and youth," I spat sarcastically.

Kiyoshi chuckled darkly, before I heard Kasamatsu come running in our direction, "What the hell?" he asked me.

"Kise," I said pointing to the ground.

"Kobori," Kasamatsu said.

"Right," Kobori replied, slinging Kise's form onto his back.

"There's a hospital a couple blocks from here, come on," he said to my unmoving self.

"She can't move, her ribs got messed up," Kiyoshi answered for me.

"Then why are you standing up," he scolded me before picking me up himself and heading towards the hospital.

* * *

As soon as we got to the emergency room, I was given a wonderful shot of pain medicine and spent the next few hours sleeping. When I woke up, it was dark outside and there was a doctor looming over me, "I see you're awake," he said.

"It would seem so," I replied.

He shuffled some papers in his hands, "You're ribs aren't broken and you don't have internal bleeding. They're just bruised, but that in itself is very painful, so I'm going to prescribe you some medicine for the pain."

"Okay," I said.

"I'm going to release you shortly, and then your boyfriend can see you," the doctor said.

"My boyfriend?" I asked confused.

The doctor sighed, "Yes, he and the other boy's teammates were quite troublesome in the waiting room," he said motioning his hand to the other side of the room.

I looked where he was waving, and saw Hanamiya lying in another bed with someone sitting in the chair next to it, "How is he?" I asked the doctor.

"He lost some blood, but we patched him up and he should be able to go home as soon as he wakes up," he replied and walked out of the room.

As soon as he left I heard a commotion from outside the door, which opened, "Sir, I already told you, you can't go in there," I heard a nurse say.

I sat up as a familiar person pushed his way into the room despite the woman trying to hold him back, "Shiracchi!" he yelled and broke free from her grasp as soon as he saw me.

"Careful," I said before he could jump on me.

He slowed down a bit before completely engulfing my head in his chest, "I'm so glad you're okay," he muttered.

The nurse sighed saying, "I give up."  
Kise situated himself on my bed saying, "They told me I couldn't see you, even after I told them that you were the love of my life," he pouted.

Suddenly the doctor mentioning my boyfriend made sense now, "You shouldn't cause so much trouble. Are you okay?" I asked him.

He smiled, "Yep! No concussion or head trauma-ssu."

"That's good," I said.

"I told Kasamatsu and the others that I would take you home," he said.

"I didn't mean to drag you guys into this," I said regretfully.

He smiled, "It's okay! I practically dragged myself into it."

I frowned, "That I know. Next time I tell you to leave, you leave."

He face fell, "Okay Shiracchi."

His eyes darted towards the other side of the room, "Hanamiya," he said.

"He's going to be okay thank god," I breathed.

"The person sitting by him though," Kise mumbled.

"What about it?" I asked.

He looked at me, "Why is Kiyoshi here?"

"Because he's a good person, and probably thinks someone shouldn't be alone in a hospital," I answered.

He looked at me doubtfully, but the nurse came in with my discharge papers, which I hastily signed in a hurry to get home, "Do you need a wheelchair or crutches?" she asked me sweetly.

"No, I'll carry her," Kise answered for me and picked me up.

The nurse glared at Kise, I couldn't really blame her, who knows what Kise put her through while he was waiting for me to wake up. Kise carried me all the way out of the hospital and to the train, which was almost completely empty. He set me down with my head in his lap and was quiet while he ran his fingers through my hair. I let him do it because I didn't feel like fighting anymore today. "You just don't sit at the bedside of someone who's responsible for injuring you!" he yelled all of sudden.

I looked at him in surprise at his outburst, "What are you talking about?"

"Hanamiya and Kiyoshi," he answered me.

I sighed, "Like I said, Kiyoshi's a really nice person."

"But still-" Kise began to whine.

"Don't forget that they were also teammates for three years," I interrupted him mid whine.

"Were they friends?" he asked.

"Not really, Kiyoshi always wanted to be close to Makoto, but Makoto just doesn't like the type of person he is," I answered.

"Makoto is an asshole, but he's not really bad unless you're going against him," I added.

"What was their team like? Was it like ours?" Kise asked.

"No, the generation of miracles was more like a machine that only cared about winning. If I had to liken the uncrowned kings to anything, it would probably be a dysfunctional family," I answered.

"Really?" Kise asked.

I nodded and chuckled, "Hanamiya and Kiyoshi would always be bickering one sidedly, Hayama would be running around hyper all the time, and Reo would always be scolding Nebuya about his manners."

"I don't know most of those people," Kise said.

"You'll meet them at the winter cup, most of them went to Rakuzan," I said.

"Did you spend a lot of time with them?" Kise asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"That's not fair-ssu. You went to _my_ middle school," Kise whined.

I laughed, "Yeah, but I was in high school when you joined the basketball team."

"Still," he started.

"Stop pouting, this is our stop," I said.

Kise picked me up and got off the train. On the walk to my house Kise asked me a lot of questions about my middle school days and how was everyone different when they were first years. "Enough," I said when we got to my house.

"Fine," he grumbled.

"Here, the instructions say to take one tonight," Kise said handing me a pill.

I took it, and he carried me to bed, "Night Shiracchi," he said and headed for the door.

I grabbed him by the wrist saying, "It's late, you can stay here."

He smiled brightly before crawling into my bed and wrapping his arms around me, "Shiracchi?" He asked.

"Hmm?" I said.

"Right before I passed out, I heard you call me a golden french fry," he said.

"Kise, I was hungry," I said.

"I figured as much-ssu" he sighed.

"In my defense, you do look like a french fry," I said.

"So mean," he whined.

Now I don't really know what made me do it, but if anyone asks, it was the painkillers. I pushed Kise's bangs up and kissed him on the forehead saying, "You were a good boy today Kise."

"You make me sound like a dog," he pouted.

"For someone who's always fishing for them, you should learn to take a compliment," I replied half asleep.

Kise held me tighter and said in my ear, "I love you so much Shiracchi."

* * *

Hi there! I want to thank everyone for their reviews; I think I got six since the last chapter so *heavy breathing* thank you. To Dark angel2155, it is not bad at all

if you ship Aomine and Shira; if Kise was out of the picture I would like them together the best. To Arabebs15/Amethyst, I try and update this story on Wednesdays

and Sundays, so thank you for commenting on that (it's the only order I have in my life T_T), and to answer your question, there is currently about three more

characters yet to appear that will make Kise jealous (I'm so mean to him). To the person who left a Guest review, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment,

and thank you for getting the yandere factor in Kise last chapter. To ashenforests, I'm glad you thought it was cute, I thought I should add just a lil bit of kawaii in

there instead of having the whole story be sarcastic remarks about Kise's character. To amy1945, I hope squeaky squealing is a good thing, and thank you for your

continued support because you literally review all the time. And last, but definitely not least because this is a very good question; to Batman78, the Haizaki vs. Kise

match will happen in approximately five chapters. I personally wish I would've been a good little author, kept things simple, and never wrote it, but I do hope

you end up enjoying it though.


	19. Chapter 19

"Shira senpai."

"Shira senpai."

"Shira senpai."

I moved slightly under my blanket and mumbled, "Blondie, I really don't have time for this."

"Blondie?" the voice questioned, and it was then that the voice I was hearing was too feminine to be Kise.

I opened my eyes slowly, "Good afternoon Shira senpai," the intruder said cheerfully.

"Momoi, what are you doing here?" I asked groggily.

She frowned, "I think the question that needs to be answered is why you're asleep at two in the afternoon."

I thought for a moment, "No, the question's still why you're here."

"Our team's going to a hot spring today, and I wanted you to come with us," Momoi explained.

"You could've called," I said.

She pouted, "I did call! But you didn't pick up, I assume because you were asleep."

I smirked, "So what? You trudged yourself all the way up here to physically get me?"

She smiled, "No, I trudged the entire basketball team up here to physically get you."

I got up saying, "All right, I get it. I'll be ready in a couple minutes."

She smiled at me and headed out of the room, "Momoi, how did you get in here?" I asked.

She turned her head towards me, "Your dad was kind enough to let me in. He was glaring when Imayoshi greeted him, but as soon as he saw me, he grabbed my shoulders and started crying about how he was so happy you had a friend that was a girl and that I could go in."

"My dad really needs to stop letting people in the house," I said to myself once Momoi left.

When I was ready I exited my home to find, like Momoi had said, the entire first string of Touou's basketball team. "What's up cutie?" Aomine said as he smirked.

"Nothin much, how about you blueberry?" I shot back.

His smirk disappeared, "I thought I told you to stop calling me that."

I smiled, "Stop looking like one and I will."

"Nice to see ya again," Imayoshi cut in.

Before I could respond Momoi pushed me aside and forced me to walk with her, "Sorry, I just thought that might be awkward."

"What?" I asked her confused.

"You being around Imayoshi," she whispered.

"Oh that? I don't care," I whispered back.

"So where is this magical hot spring located?" I asked her.

"Tokyo," she answered.

I snorted, "Please tell me what you did to make a group of unruly teenage boys make an hour detour."

She smiled mischieviously, "I have my ways."

"Alright, I can respect that. I have my ways too," I said.

After a moment of silence I added, "I punch people."

Momoi laughed, "I figured as much."

Once we were on the train, I quickly searched for a good pillow by trying to adjust the basketball players in the surrounding area. I was in between Sakurai, who was too small to be a good resting place and Aomine, who was already asleep and snoring away. I poked his arm and shoulder muttering to myself, "Muscular guys make the worst pillows."

I sighed in frustration and slowly maneuvered Aomine's sleeping form onto the person sitting next to him until his face was completely buried in their neck. Don't worry, I wouldn't do that to a stranger; it was Wakamatsu, but by the glares he was sending me, I think perhaps it might have been better if it was a stranger. "What are you doing?" he shouted at me angrily.

"Shh, just let it happen," I said as I burrowed myself into the space I had created between Aomine and the seat.

I closed my eyes and fell into a blissful sleep for the next hour, that was until someone kept repeatedly tapping my shoulder. I opened my eyes and glared at my assailant, "Sorry! I'm so sorry! It's just we're almost there and Wakamatsu looks like he's about to explode!" Sakurai spat out.

I sat up and realized my makeshift bed (aka Aomine's back) was no longer where I had initially moved him. Within the hour, Aomine had managed to completely drape himself over Wakamatsu, who sat with his arms crossed. He glared at me, and I could tell he wasn't blushing, his face was red with anger. "Hold on just a bit longer Waka-chan, we're almost there," I reassured him.

He continued glaring at me, but held his position. Maybe things would have managed to stay that way the rest of the ride if Aomine hadn't been so much of a pervert, even in his sleep. We all heard it, and we all knew nothing good could come from it. "Mai-chan…" Aomine mumbled in his sleep, before his tongue darted across Wakamatsu's neck.

Wakamatsu's eyes widened and he began to tremble with rage as Aomine began to kiss the area his tongue was, "I'm going to throw him off the train," Wakamatsu said angrily.

"Now Waka-chan," I started.

"I'm going to throw him through the window in two seconds," he continued.

"The windows don't open," I pointed out.

He glared at me, "I'm going to take his head, smash the window open with it, and then throw him off the train."

Everyone couldn't contain themselves after that, even Imayoshi started cracking up. "Okay, I'll move him right after I do a thing," I said, taking out my phone.

"Move him. Now!" Wakamatsu shouted as I took a couple of pictures.

"Okay blueberry, time to move," I said pulling Aomine away.

I had to tug him for a while, because he didn't want to be separated from "Mai-chan". Luckily the train helped me by making a sharp turn and throwing him backwards, or shall I say the train meant well, but went a little overboard because Aomine ended up falling on me. It did however, manage to wake him up, "Heh, if you wanted me on top of you so badly you could've just asked," he said smirking.

"I can't believe you're flirting with me in front of your lover; how shameful," I said.

"What?" Aomine asked confused.

My response was to hold up my phone, which had a high quality picture of Aomine sucking on Wakamatsu's neck, "I have to say, I really like this picture. I think I'll make it my wallpaper," I said.

Aomine's smirk disappeared, it may have disappeared forever by the look of embarrassment that washed over his face. His face turned a bright red and he was unable to move from his position. "This is our stop," Momoi said weakly.

Aomine got up slowly and was unable to look anyone in the eye, especially Wakamatsu. I guess one of the many good things about this experience was that Aomine was quiet the rest of the way to the hot springs.

* * *

"Momoi," I said.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Thanks for the invite, this place is nice," I said.

She smiled, "No problem, I wanted you to be here."

"I'm going to go in," Momoi said, walking out of the changing room.

"Okay," I responded.

It was not a couple minutes afterward that I heard a slight commotion coming from the hot spring. I walked over to the door and looked to see what was going on, and what I was confronted with was Riko and Momoi pressing their chests together. They seemed to be arguing about something basketball related, but I wasn't able to hear. I quickly stripped and entered the water myself, not that I was addressed, Riko and Momoi were too busy passive aggressively arguing to notice me. After about ten minutes I was extremely bored, uncomfortable, and unrelaxed, so I quietly made my way out of the water and back into the changing room. I rummaged through my things and pulled out my phone, dialing a number I don't recall ever calling before, "Shiracchi!?" the voice answered.

"Hi Kise," I said.

"I'm so happy to hear from you~" the voice sang.

I chuckled, "I figured."

"Why did you call me?" Kise asked.

"I need you to answer a question," I explained.

"Maybe I don't want to," Kise said childishly on the other line.

He wants to be like that. Fine. Two can play at that game. "Please blondie, I'm standing here all cold and naked...I need you to tell me something so I can get back in the water," I sighed.

I could practically hear him blushing on the other side, "W-ater?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm at a hot spring right now," I said.

"Wh-at's you're q-uestion," Kise managed to cough out.

"So, you understand girls more than I do right?" I asked.

"Yes," Kise said.

"Is two girls pressing their chests together in anger a sexual thing or an intimidation tactic?" I asked.

"Shiracchi…" Kise responded.

"It's important, I need to know," I whined.

"Does one of them have a bigger chest than the other?" he sighed.

"Yeah," I answered.

"Then it's an intimidation thing," he said.

"Thank you blondie, see you later," I said and hung up my phone.

Putting my phone back with my clothes I mentally patted myself on the back for thinking of bringing my swimsuit. I put my blue bikini on and traveled over to the male side of the hot spring, hoping that it was less tense than the girl's side.

When I walked in, the first thing I noticed was Hyuuga seemingly passed out naked on the floor. Walking past him I approached Kuroko next, who had acknowledged my presence as soon as I walked in. I bent down, "My sweet panda, you're covered in bubbles."

"It appears that I've used too much soap Shira-kun," Kuroko replied.

I looked down at the playful wet pile of fur wriggling between my feet, "Your dog?" I asked Kuroko.

"Yes, his name's Nigou," he responded.

The puppy looked up at me, "He looks like you," I commented.

"I hear that a lot, the owner was nice enough to let me bring him in," he replied.

I poked Nigou's nose, "I'm not surprised, the owner didn't even blink or say anything when I came to this side."

I stood back up and made my way into the water. I floated over to Kiyoshi, who was looking at Kagami holding up someone, "What are they doing?" I asked.

Kiyoshi looked at me startled, "Shira, what are you doing here?"

"I really don't know, I just go where the wind blows me and I always end up with the basketball people," I said.

"Anyway, what are they doing?" I asked.

"They're trying to peek on the other side," he said in disappointment.

"The only people in there are Riko and Momoi," I said.

"Momoi?" Kiyoshi questioned.

"Yeah, she invited me here. Anyway, I see Kagami's wearing swim trunks," I observed.

Kiyoshi smiled, "Yeah, he's never been to a hot spring before."

"Great minds think alike," I said, snapping the strap of my bikini.

"I don't think it's a wise idea to compare your mind to Kagami-kun's," a voice said next to me.

I started at the sound of it, but immediately pinched Kuroko's cheeks, "Please stop Shira-kun," he said.

I could tell he was getting annoyed so I stopped, saying, "Fine, but it's so hard to resist."

During our conversation the rest of the team had gotten their shit together and all made their way into the water, "What is she doing here?" Hyuuga asked glaring at me.

"Don't take that tone with me four eyes," I snapped.

That shut him up pretty quickly, "I don't feel well," Kuroko interrupted.

I looked at him, "Honey, you look overheated."

"I'm going to go get something to drink," Kuroko said, getting out of the water.

Kagami followed him, "That's right American hottie, go after your Asian princess," I said after him.

He glared at me and I laughed at him, "Hiya," a voice came across the water.

The mist cleared and revealed the boys from Touou, which was good because I was beginning to wonder where they were. "Hey Waka-chan is that a hickey?" I asked.

"Screw you," was his reply.

I tuned them all out after that, I heard Imayoshi start talking about the Winter Cup and I was gone. I only started paying attention to them again when they all started leaving the hot spring, "Where are you guys going?" I asked.

"Seeing who can stay in the sauna the longest," Susa answered me.

Once I was alone I said out loud, "What did I do to deserve all these idiotic competitive teenage boys around me?"

Feeling the effects of the hot water myself, I decided to follow in Kuroko's footsteps and go get something to drink. When I got to the vending machine, I was confronted with an odd scene; Kagami with his arm around Aomine and Kuroko on a bench. Not planning on missing a wonderful opportunity like this, I hopped on the bench on the other side of the vending machine and snuck up to Aomine. "Mai-chan…" I mumbled in his ear before licking his neck.

He jerked his head away from me, causing him to bump into Aomine. I laughed, "Sorry blueberry, that was just too tempting."

He glared at me, "Whatever, we're leaving anyway," he said walking towards Momoi, who was waiting for him.

"Shira senpai, it's kind of late to catch a train back, did you want to stay over at my house?" Momoi asked.

"That's okay, I'm going to stay with a family member tonight," I answered.

"Okay, bye then," Momoi said before leaving.

I turned to Kuroko and Kagami, "So, what was that all about back there?" I asked.

"I'm going to crush him," Kagami growled.

"Doesn't answer my question, but okay," I said.

Kuroko stood up, "I think our team's getting ready to leave, bye Shira-kun."

I gave him a hug, "Bye sweet panda."

"See you around American hottie," I said winking at Kagami.

"See ya," Kagami said as he and Kuroko left.

I left shortly after they did, and very content and happy with my visit I might add. The owner had been nice enough to give me a kimono, which felt a lot better after the long soak in the hot water than my normal clothes. I exited the resort and started down the street, but I didn't get very far before I heard someone call out, "Shiracchi!"

I stopped walking, I thought I was hearing things, but when I turned towards the voice I saw a very out of breath Kise approaching me, "Blondie, what are you doing here?" I asked him.

"Texted...Momoicchi...said you...were here.." Kise said, still out of breath.

"That doesn't answer my question," I said.

He pulled me into a tight hug, "I was worried about you," he mumbled in my ear.

"Why?" I asked.

"That question that you asked me, I thought someone was trying to intimidate you-ssu," he answered.

"Idiot," I said hitting him on the shoulder, "You know I can take care of myself."

He grabbed my hand and stroked my wrist with his thumb, "I know, but it doesn't stop me from worrying about you. I'm just sorry I couldn't come sooner; I had two photo shoots today and an interview…" he started.

His stomach, or should I say both of our stomachs interrupted him, "Hungry," we muttered in unison.

Kise frowned, "Shiracchi, did you eat today?"

"No, I answered, did you?" I asked.

He looked down, "No."

I laughed and grabbed his hand, "What a pair we are, come on, let's go get something to eat."

Kise's face lit up, "I want to go to a family style restaurant!"

I chuckled, "Sure thing, that's probably the only type of place open this late."

* * *

Two hours later, Kise and I were walking down a street completely stuffed. I had accidentally uttered the words "I'm tired" so I was currently on Kise's back. I heard him laugh softly, "This reminds me of the time I carried you home from the festival-ssu."

"That's right," I responded.

"We're going to the same place right?" he asked.

"Yeah, my friend's out of town, but he's okay with us spending the night," I replied.

"Is this the guy that got you the bracelet?" Kise asked with a sour expression on his face.

"Yeah, but he's more of a big brother to me," I said.

Kise looked at me doubtfully, "What you don't believe me? I'm hurt blondie. Seriously though, I even call him nii-san," I said.

"Don't ever trust boys Shiracchi, they always have their own motives," Kise said.

"Then I have half a mind to think that you just came all the way out here because I told you I was naked," I joked.

"Mean-ssu," Kise pouted.

We reached the apartment and I hopped off his back, turning the key I said, "Stop whining and get in the damn apartment blondie," I said with a smile.

* * *

Hey there! I just wanted to thank Amethyst for their review, and to answer your question, I do somewhat have a life. I don't sleep very much so that helps, and I am

in love with you as well, you always leave great comments. Now, I am a total Kiyohana shipper, but I didn't mean to imply anything in this story, so I think I

may have written that subconsciously, and yes Shira is warming up to Kise, however long she may take. Thanks for your continued support, and thanks to anyone

who reads/favorites/or follows this.


	20. Chapter 20

I was frantically trying to get dressed and run a brush through my hair when I heard the knock at the door. I groaned loudly when my dad answered it and I heard him say, "Kise! It's so nice to see you again."

"Hello Mr. Haizawa," I heard Kise reply happily.

I gave up on my hair, grabbed my phone, and headed down the stairs, "Don't be a stranger, come on in," I heard my dad say as I reached the end of the stairs.

"Actually dad, we have to go," I said.

My dad turned his head towards me, "How disappointing."

Kise meanwhile, had taken up my dad's invitation to come inside and had planted himself in front of the fishbowl with a stupid grin on his face. He looked at me as I walked up to him, "How's Kise Jr. doing? Is he happy?" he asked me.

"I guess, I mean he's a fish," I replied.

Kise sighed, "I just hope he understands that Papa's really busy with basketball, school, and work, so I can't come and see him that often."

"Again he's a fish," I said apathetically.

Kise brought his hand to his chin and said dramatically, "Supporting a family is hard."

I rolled my eyes and pondered the question of Kise's sanity, which came across my mind daily. Ever since he had given me Kise Jr. he had periodically given me fish food and aquarium accessories a couple times a month, claiming that he had to "provide for his family". "Honestly, you're too much," I said.

"They like each other a lot," my dad said motioning towards the fish, "Maybe it's a sign~" he swooned.

Kise smiled widely and I glared at my dad, saying, "No."

"So Kise," my dad ignored me and continued, "It's a shame you two have to go, but how would you feel about coming to dinner tonight?"

"I'd love to-ssu," Kise said excitedly.

"Okay, we need to go or we're going to be late, and I'm not about to have Yuki bitch at me for the next three hours," I said to Kise.

"Fine. Bye Mr. Haizawa!" Kise said as I dragged him out the door.

I had a smirk on my face the whole way to the station. Kise was only excited and comfortable about coming to dinner because he knows my dad and how much he likes him. What he doesn't know is that my mother is coming home this afternoon, and will be present at this dinner. My mother, ex gang member, tough as nails, and current cutthroat hostile businesswoman; I wouldn't be surprised if she reduced Kise to a puddle of yellow slush with the consistency of wet snow. Is it cruel of me to keep this little piece of information to myself? Maybe. But who ever said I wasn't cruel?

"Shiracchi," I heard from the seat beside me.

"Yes blondie?" I asked.

"Are you as tense as I am right now?" he asked.

"Yeah," I answered honestly.

Kise twiddled his thumbs, "I should be thankful to Kurokocchi, he made me see basketball differently, and because of that I'm part of an actual team. I just hope he can make Aominecchi see the same thing."

"Well, I wouldn't expect anything drastic. Touou doesn't focus on team play that much, so if losing does anything, it'll probably help his personality," I said.

"That's good though! I want Aominecchi to go back to being the person he was before, the one who inspired me to play basketball," Kise replied.

"You have such a boy crush on him blondie," I said.

Kise's face turned red, "I do not!" he insisted.

I laughed, "Do yourself a favor and don't deny it, anyway, I hope it will make lighten up, then he can unfurrow his eyebrows and stop looking like such an old man."

Kise laughed, "Shiracchi, that's so mean!"

I smiled, "What? It's the truth, boy's gonna need botox in a couple years if he keeps going at this rate."

Kise giggled hysterically, before losing his smile and saying lowly, "But we're talking about it as if Kurokocchi and Kagamicchi will win, and that probably won't happen."

"Chin up blondie," I said running my fingers through his hair, "Where's that infamous Kise enthusiasm?"

"Where I left it. Back at the Interhigh," Kise grumbled.

I pulled out my phone and opened my Oha Osa app, "Let's see, Gemini's ranking is second, and your lucky item is...huh."

Kise looked at me through the corner of his eye curiously and asked, "What?"

I put my phone back in my pocket and reached for my ear, "A blue earring," I said, taking out my blue steel earring I had found on the street.

I saw Kise blush as I reached over to his ear and took out his silver earring, and his ears grew a bright red as I put mine in, "What a-are you doing?" he stammered.

"I figure if you already have good luck today and you have your lucky item, things'll go your way. And what you want most right now is for Seirin to win right?" I explained.

Kise nodded, "But I feel bad, I can't just take your earring Shiracchi, you really like it."

"If you're that worried about it, then I'll wear yours. Then it's a trade," I said, going to put the earring in.

The only thing was, is that the piercing was at an awkward angle at the top of my ear, and the earring refused to go in smoothly. After about five minutes I looked at Kise saying, "Hey, blondie, I need your assistance."

"Sure thing," Kise said smiling, but I could feel his hands trembling when he took the earring from me.

"Calm down," I said as he fumbled with it nervously, "It's an ear, not like it's anything sexual."

"Scratch that. Ears are sexual," I added.

"They are not," Kise exclaimed.

"So innocent," I chuckled.

"Shiracchi, you're being mean again," Kise said a he managed to get the earring in.

"You should be used to it by now," I said.

"This is our stop. We could always just stay on this train and see where it takes us," Kise said.

I grabbed him saying, "And face the wrath of Kasamatsu Yukio? Hell no."

We managed to make it to the court early, and ran into Seirin as they were heading to their locker room. "Hi sweet panda, I'm rooting for you today," I said giving Kuroko a hug.

"Hello Shira-kun," Kuroko replied.

"Kurokocchi!" Kise yelled and attempted to hug him, a hug which Kuroko swiftly avoided.

I laughed, until I noticed a presence to my right, "Shira-kun, can I ask you a favor?"

I looked at Kuroko, "What?"

"Can you watch Nigou, he tends to wander off during our games and I would feel better if I knew where he was," he answered.

I looked down at the puppy sniffing my shoes, "Sure thing," I said, picking up Nigou.

"Aren't you just the cutest thing in the world?" I cooed as I scratched behind Nigou's ears.

"Excuse me Shiracchi, but I'm the cutest thing of the world," Kise said seriously.

"You embarrass yourself," I said apathetically.

"Kurokocchi, we have to go," Kise said suddenly.

"Right," Kuroko responded.

"Where are you going?" I asked them.

"To meet with Akashi-kun," Kuroko answered.

I sighed and turned to Kise, "Coach is gonna be mad, he specifically said that he wanted to have a team meeting before the start of the Winter Cup."

"Send my apologizes-ssu," Kise said as he walked away.

"Our family just expanded and the first thing you do is leave me!" I yelled after him as Nigou squirmed in my arms.

I earned quite a few weird looks from that statement, and a blushing Kise turned to me and yelled back, "Don't say things like that in public, people'll get the wrong idea!"

I looked back at Kagami, who had started following them, "Normally I'd tell you to go after your Asian princess, but you might want to avoid Akashi as much as possible," I said to him.

"Whatever, I'm going," Kagami grunted.

"Furihata, follow them," I heard Hyuuga order.

I looked at the cowardly shaking bundle of nerves that followed and looked at Nigou saying, "Well that's just going to work out perfectly; Akashi wants a meeting between the generation of miracles and he's about to get half of Seirin's team."

I walked into the building to find my team saying, "You know what that was Nigou? That was sarcasm."

* * *

When Kise joined us to watch the game, I could tell he was shaken up, "Hey, what happened?" I asked as he sat down next to me.

"Akashicchi...Kagamicchi...scissors," was his reply.

"I don't even want to know," I said.

Kise's demeanor changed and he started pouting, "Make sure to keep your eyes off of Imayoshi-ssu."

"And Aominecchi," he added.

"And Kagamicchi," he added again.

"Coach," I said to Takeuchi-sensei, who was seated below me, "Do I even have to be here, because I'm apparently not allowed to watch the game."

"Both of you shut up, the games about to start, and," he said looking up, "Kise, when I say there's a team meeting I expect you to be there."

"I understand, sorry-ssu," Kise said.

The first quarter was nerve wracking, and ended with Touou and Seirin tied at twenty two points. Kise turned to me and whined, "Shiracchi, my lucky item isn't working. You should give me a good luck kiss."

"I'll give you a good luck bruise, now shut up and watch the game," I replied.

The second quarter was just as tedious and intense, but ended with Touou leading by two points. "I need to get some air, does anyone want anything to eat or drink?" I asked, standing up.

As I ordered everything, I regretted my decision to ask a group of hungry teenage boys if they wanted anything to eat. I looked at the pile of food and drinks, and looked at the worker, "Do you have a bag or something?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Nope, I don't know what to tell you, maybe you should eat less."

A look of anger flashed on my face, and I was very close to punching the guy in his stupid face when a lazy voice said next to me, "Ne, that's a lot of food."

I looked beside me and was confronted with a huge wall. Craning my neck, I was able to see a head with eyes looking down on me, "Yes, yes it is," I said.

"You're so small, makes me want to crush you," the tall guy said as he patted my head.

I didn't bother getting angry at him because he seemed kind of out of it and I said quickly, "You're so tall it makes me want to climb you, or use you to reach things that are high, or," I said, getting an idea, "Use you to carry a crapload of food."

The guy glanced at my mountain of food, getting what I was implying, "Only if you give me a box of candy."

"Sure thing," I said, not questioning why he needed more food when I could see clearly that he was carrying a plastic bag full of snacks.

He picked up the pile of food and we made our way back to the gym, that was until we were interrupted by someone. I gathered he was on the same team as tall guy because they were wearing the same uniform, but I instantly didn't like him very much. His hair was what bothered me mostly, I felt like he was some emo scene kid. "Atsushi, we have to get back," he said to the tall guy.

Atsushi turned to me, "I can carry it the rest of the way, thanks for the help and here's your candy," I said to him and took the food.

When I returned to my seat Kise looked at me, "There you are Shiracchi, the third quarter's just about to start."

"What's the score again?" I asked him as I handed everyone their food.

"48-46," Kise answered.

Once I sat down I tugged Kise's jacket saying, "Come down here, you're too tall."

"What?" Kise asked as I pulled him down.

I gave him a small kiss on the cheek, which immediately caused him to turn red, "Shiracchi, what was that?" he asked.

I looked at him plainly, "It was a good luck kiss, I'm willing to do anything for my sweet panda to win."

Kise smiled, "Shiracchi, you don't actually believe in all that stuff do you?"

"Of course I do, have you ever borrowed Midorima's lucky pencil for a test? I swear that man's a wizard," I answered.

Kise laughed, "Shiracchi you're weird."

He looked at me and added wistfully, "But I love that about you."

I was caught off guard at his comment and couldn't make a snippy reply back, so I blushed slightly and looked away.

"Some of us are trying to watch a basketball game, so if you can flirt on your own time please," Kasamatsu said gruffly.

Kise quieted down and we commenced watching the game. The third quarter passed by and Touou was still in the lead, but the fourth quarter was on a whole other level. "What's different?" I mumbled to himself.

Nakamura, my handy dandy basketball interpreter to the right of me responded, "Kagami and Aomine are both in the zone."

"The zone?" I asked.

"They're pushing themselves past their limits," he explained.

"That sounds lame, and dangerous," I said.

"I can't imagine it's good for their bodies," Nakamura stated.

With only five seconds left in the game I watched as Kiyoshi missed a free throw, Kagami go for the rebound, only to be slapped away by Aomine. "Come on," I grumbled to myself.

I saw Kuroko pass the ball back to where Kagami and Aomine were, and Kagami catch the ball mid air and dunk it, finishing the game and winning by one point. Everyone stood up and cheered, but I found myself picked up and squeezed by Kise, "Shiracchi, our good luck charms worked!" he said excitedly.

"Blondie, you sound like a kid," I said as he put me down, "But I guess that's okay," I said smiling.

* * *

"Ahh, I'm so excited. I never thought that I could be this happy from a match that I didn't participate in~" Kise sang as he twirled through the street.

I laughed, "Calm down blondie, we're almost to my house."

"I know, I'm just so happy I can't contain it," he said.

"How is that any different from any other day?" I asked.

"Mean," Kise pouted.

"Stop pouting, we're here," I said opening up my door.

"Kise, my boy, it's so nice to see you," my dad said as soon as we walked in.

"It's nice to see you too Mr. Haizawa," Kise said smiling.

"So," a low voice said behind my father, "This is the Kise my husband's been talking about non stop."

My father stepped aside to reveal my mother, in all her intimidating glory; sitting in the armchair in the living room with a cigarette in her mouth and an intense glare that looked Kise up and down. I held back a laugh as Kise froze and started hyperventilating, and I walked over and gave my mom a hug saying, "Welcome home mom."

She nodded at me, "Yes, I'm Kise Ryouta, it's nice to meet you Mrs. Haizawa," Kise said and he must've bowed at least ten times.

My mom gave him a small nod of acknowledgment and turned to my dad asking, "Is the food ready."

"Yes dear," my dad answered.

We all made our way into the dining room, although I had to keep myself from laughing at Kise, who was walking stiffly and had a look of terror on his face. We sat down to eat, and that's when my mother began to assault Kise with a barrage of questions.

"How old are you?"

"What's your family like?"

"I'm told you're a model."

"What are your grades like?"

"Do you plan to make a career out of basketball?"

"Are you violent?"

"Are you a pushover?"

"Who are your friends?"

"Where do you live?"

Kise answered simply to most of the questions, and was followed up by my dad saying something positive about him. That was until my mom narrowed her eyes and said slyly, "You're a pretty popular model right? You must have had a bunch of girlfriends by now."

"Not really, and Shiracchi is the only girl I've ever loved!" Kise said passionately.

My dad clapped his hands together, "See how wonderful he is dear?"

My mom rested her head on her hands, "Maybe so, but you two are pretty different right?"

"That's true," Kise said lowly.

"I love how everyone's discussing this like I didn't reject his confession, we're just friends," I said.

"Don't worry Kise, give her some time and she'll realize that she wants a good guy like you," my dad said, giving Kise a thumbs up.

"I'll work hard to become the man Shiracchi needs me to be!" Kise said with a newfound sense of determination.

My dad looked at Kise with sparkles in his eyes, and my mom and I just looked at each other with disappointment on our faces.

"It's late, are you sure you don't want to stay over?" my dad asked.

"No, my house is close by," Kise answered.

"Okay, bye," my dad said dejectedly and went to go sulk in a corner.

"I don't think your mom likes me very much, she didn't even say goodbye," Kise said with a worried expression.

"That's just the way she is, I wouldn't worry about it, she takes her time when forming an opinion on someone. And it doesn't help that you're pretty tough to figure out," I reassured him.

"You think so?" Kise asked smiling.

"Mmhm, I've known you for months and I still have no clue who you are," I answered.

"Should I try to be more clear," Kise mumbled.

"Nah, your complexity is the only thing keeping you from being a dumb blonde jock," I said.

"Oh, I almost forgot about your earring," Kise said, reaching for his ear.

"Keep it, it's officially been graced as a lucky item. We'll need it for Seirin's next game, who are they playing anyway?" I asked.

"Yosen," Kise answered.

I nodded, " I guess I'll see you then blondie."

"See you then," Kise said, before he gave me a quick kiss on the top of my head and then ran away with a red face.

"Idiot," I laughed as I closed the door.

* * *

Hello! I wanted to thank everyone who left a review or favorited/followed this story. To Amethyst, there will be a character showing up in the next chapter that will

make Kise jealous, but he's not exactly a threat per say, and the other characters won't be appearing until later on. I've written this fic to be 40 chapters, and those

characters won't appear till the last ten. To amy1945, I'm glad that you liked Shira's appearance at the hot springs because that was one of my favorite chapters to

write, it's the chapter that most shows Shira's character in my opinion. And to PouringRain-BlazingStorm, thank you for your support, and the fact that you like the

story makes _my _life.


	21. Chapter 21

The day of the Seirin vs. Yosen match, I woke up early. I took a scalding hot shower, shaved every hair off my arms and legs, and covered myself in perfume and lotion. I combed through my hair, blow dried it, and pulled it back into a ponytail with a light blue ribbon. I then proceeded to spend the next three hours in front of my mirror trying to get my eyeliner and the rest of my make up perfect. When I heard the incessant knocking on the door I opened my window and shouted, "I'm not ready yet blondie, come in, the door's unlocked!"

"You're alone, you shouldn't leave the house unlocked!" Kise shouted up at me.

"I can take care of myself. Or have we forgotten the beach incident? Or the fact that Takeda knocked you out in less than five seconds?" I shouted back at him.

"I couldn't help that! My delicate body isn't used to such rough treatment!" Kise shouted.

I sighed angrily, "Well get your delicate body in the damn house because I'm very close to coming down there and murdering you in the street!"

I heard the front door open and close, and then rummaging noises in the kitchen which I presumed was Kise making breakfast. Satisfied with my make up, I slipped on the only skirt I owned, which was a black pleated mini skirt and had been my "required" uniform at Fukuda. I put on a gray shirt and black jacket before going down the stairs and into the kitchen, "Hey," I said to Kise, who was at the stove.

"Good morning Shiracchi~" Kise sang as he turned around to face me and then stopped.

He looked at me with a frown on my face, "What's wrong?" I asked and patted my hair, "Do I not look okay?"

"Where is my Shiracchi and what have you done with her?" he asked me in a grave tone.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I sat down at the table.

He put a plate of food in front of me, "What is this?" he asked, motioning at my face.

"I'm a girl. I am allowed to dress up once in a while; come to think of it you're a model, I should've waited to do my make up until you came," I replied.

"Shiracchi, I don't even do my own make up," Kise laughed.

I narrowed my eyes, "Blondie, I think we're both aware that your eyelashes are not that long naturally."

He looked away, "Anyway, why do you look like this today? Usually I have to drag you out of bed when we have a basketball game to go to."

"It may be all for nothing, but I have to look perfect today," I answered.

Kise looked at me, "Shiracchi, that completely answered my question."

I smiled and he continued in a sarcastic voice, "Seriously Shiracchi, that response might very well be the answer to the universe."

"Aww blondie, is my quick wit rubbing off on you?" I asked and pinched his cheek.

"But in all seriousness, do I look good?" I asked.

"You always look good-ssu," Kise answered.

I sighed, "But I mean do I look like normal teenage girl to anybody who doesn't know me?"

"I think so," Kise answered me.

"Okay then let's go," I said getting up.

"You haven't even finished your food yet," Kise whined.

"It's not important," I said, heading towards the door.

"Not important," Kise said as he stood up, "I slave in the kitchen to make you food and it's _not important_?"

I looked at Kise and laughed, "I may look like a normal teenage girl right now, but you look like a disgruntled housewife blondie."

"Shiracchi," Kise whined.

"What? It's the apron, I don't understand why you need to wear it every time you cook; it was a gag gift," I said.

"It's a precious gift from Shiracchi," Kise said bashfully.

Whatever let's go," I chuckled.

* * *

"Shiracchi."

"Shiraaaacccchhiii."

"Shiracchi please talk to me," Kise whined.

My eyebrow twitched, "I can't believe you."

"It wasn't my fault-ssu," he pouted.

"Where are we right now?" I asked him.

"The train station," he answered.

"Why am I upset?" I asked.

"Because we missed our train," he answered lowly.

"And what will happen now?"

"We'll be late," he said.

I turned my head towards him, "Now tell me this, why did we miss our train?"

Kise hung his head low and said in a monotone voice, "Because my fangirls attacked us and I gave all of them an autograph and a picture."

"That is correct, and based on your answer, I would like to call bullshit on your previous statement of "it's not my fault" and place the entire blame on you," I said irritatedly.

"I'm sorry-ssu," Kise said cheerfully.

"Apologizing cutely doesn't make up for it. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like the wait for the next train to be made in silence," I said coldly.

Kise's hand brushed against mine, "I'm sorry," he said seriously.

"I know," I said begrudgingly.

We ended up being late as Kise had predicted, and didn't get to the game until the start of the third quarter. If looks could kill, Kasamatsu's glare would've sent us to an early grave, "Where the hell have you guys been?" he asked angrily.

"Problem with the trains, life happens Yuki," I answered before Kise could tell him the whole truth.

"Thanks for covering for me," I heard Kise whisper in my ear.

It occurred to me only after I had said it, but it wasn't necessary for me to lie for him. Even if he had told Kasamatsu the truth, it would be Kise's head on the chopping block for letting his fangirls get in the way, not me. "We were only able to save one seat," Kasamatsu said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

Kise smiled, "That's okay, Shiracchi can sit on my lap."

Scanning the area I pushed Kise into the open seat and sat down on the person next to him, "It's okay blondie," I said.

"Shiracchi! You can't just sit on random people, come here," he whined as he patted his legs.

I gave Kise one of my most threatening stares, "I. Said. It. Was. Okay. Blondie."

Kise looked at me doubtfully and insisted on holding my hand, but otherwise he let the subject drop for the rest of the game. "What's the score?" I asked.

Instead of an answer from my teammates I heard they guy's voice in my ear, "29-17 with Yosen in the lead."  
"Thank you," I said quietly.

"Why are you here?" the man asked.

"Basketballs, basketball players, teenage boy angst, this is my life now," I answered.

The man chuckled, "The more important question is why are you all the way out here?" I asked.

"I got invited by the coach, didn't you think I'd be here? I thought you got all dressed up for me," the man said.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," I said cheekily.

"Well you look very pretty," he said, petting my hair.

"Hey, would you mind not touching her-ssu," Kise interjected and his sentence was followed up with an inhuman noise.

"Did he...did he just hiss at me?" the man asked.

"Kise, know your place, you are a puppy dog not a cat. If I need anyone to hiss at someone I'm going to call Hanamiya," I said.

"Now that you mention it, Hanamiya does seem like a cat," Kise said.

"Right? I think it's the tongue thing too, you know how he always sticks his tongue out at people. It kind of reminds me of when cats stick out their tongue and forget to put it back in so it's just sticking out all the time," I said.

Kise laughed, "That's so true, I'm going to take a picture next time I see him and photoshop cat ears on him."

I laughed back, "Make sure to send me that."

"It amazes me," Kasamatsu interrupted, "How much time you two can spend talking about non-basketball related things...DURING A BASKETBALL GAME!"

"Fine, we'll watch the freaking game, calm yourself and your eyebrows Yuki," I said in response.

Putting my attention on the game, I was quick to realize that it seemed Kiyoshi and Kagami were being more intense than usual, "Wait, I know those two," I muttered.

"Who?" Kise asked.

"Emo guy and Atsushi," I said.

"Eh, you and Murasakibaracchi are that close to be using his first name?" Kise asked.

"No, that's the only name I know him by; he helped me carry something when we watched the Seirin vs. Touou match," I replied.

"I see," Kise said somewhat relieved.

"Can I ask you something blondie? Haven't you ever thought of calling him by his first name? I mean, Murasakibara is already a mouthful, and then you add your -cchi to it and it's just ridiculous, like try typing that into any word processor and have them tell you it's spelled correctly," I said sarcastically.

"What's up with Kagami and that emo guy though?" I asked.

"That's Kagami's brother from America, I don't think they have good history," Kasamatsu said.

I looked at him doubtfully, "I don't think they're actual brothers," Kasamatsu elaborated.

I nodded and turned back to the game; the third quarter had ended with Yosen leading by four points, but at least Kuroko had been subbed back in. The game was pretty close, but in the last 20 seconds of the game Murasakibara entered the zone (I only knew this because of Kise telling me) but Kuroko slapped the ball out of his hands and secured Seirin's victory.

I heard the emo guy, who I was just recently informed that he goes by the name Himuro, and Kagami have an exchange. I overheard something like, "We're no longer brothers" and had to ask out loud, "I'm glad that Seirin won, but what the hell is going on between the two Americans?"

"Apparently Himuro said that he's no longer worthy of being Kagami's brother because Kagami is stronger than him," Nakamura answered.

"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard, he needs to grow a pair and buck up," I said.

"I don't think anyone's disagreeing with you," Kasamatsu said.

We walked out of the game, me sticking close to the guy I had sat on; little did I know what was being said as I separated from the group.

* * *

"Who is that?" Takeuchi-sensei asked the team gruffly.

"I don't know, but Shira seems to be friendly with him," Nakamura observed.

"He looks like he's in his thirties," Kasamatsu said.

"I know Shiracchi can take care of herself, but I don't trust that guy," Kise whined.

"He doesn't seem trustworthy," Kobori said.

"I agree!" Hayakawa shouted.

"Genta," a female voice called out as a woman approached them.

"Masako," Takeuchi sensei said back.

"It was a great game," Takeuchi commented.

Araki smiled softly, "We lost, but I think this game finally lit a fire in Murasakibara to try."

"That's good," Takeuchi said.

"What are you all gawking at over there?" Araki asked.

"That shady guy," Kise replied with a hint of malice.

"Oh, he's the physics teacher at Yosen," Araki answered.

"That guy's a teacher?!" all of the boys exclaimed.

"Yes, why?" Araki asked.

"Shiracchi was on his lap the entire game, and now he's petting her head again-ssu," Kise growled.

Araki's eyes furrowed, "He never struck me as that type of guy, I'll deal with him right now."

"I'll go with you," Takeuchi said and followed her.

"Don't worry coach, we got your back," the Kaijo boys said as they followed suit.

"Excuse me," Araki said harshly as she walked up to the two.

"Oh Masako; I wanted to introduce you to someone," the man said.

Araki's eyebrow twitched, "You do, do you?"

"Yeah in all the time I've worked at Yosen I don't think you two have ever met, this is my little sister, Haizawa Shirahime."

* * *

"It's just Shira," I said.

The woman looked shocked for a second before introducing herself, "It's nice to meet you, I'm Masako Araki; Yosen's basketball coach."

I saw Kise inch towards me, "You're older brother?" he asked in almost a whisper.

I nodded a yes to him. I wasn't surprised he didn't guess it before; my brother is tall, has brown hair, and gold eyes; in short, we look nothing alike. Even our attitudes are different, I am a very volatile person and temperamental, my brother is a cool cucumber with a permanent bored expression on his face because he finds people too annoying to even feel anything towards. We weren't that close because of our big age gap and him living so far away, but we still care for each other. The fact that my brother was so smart and collected always led to me trying to impress him, or show him that I was okay; hence my need to look like a normal teenage girl. My brother had always watched me when my parents were away on business and had actually wanted me to move with him to Akita, but I had liked Shizuoka too much. I guess it didn't matter much anymore because I'd be on my own soon anyway, but old habits die hard and I didn't want him to worry about me. "Haizawa nii-san, I am sorry I hissed at you! It's just, your sister is the love of my life and I thought you were a predator!" Kise yelled and bowed.

"Umm...Okay," my brother answered.

"Are you staying?" I asked him.

"I have to get back to work, but you need to come visit me soon," my brother responded.

"Okay," I said.

"Shiracchi, I'm going to take a walk, is that okay with you?" Kise asked.

"Sure thing," I said as he walked off.

"What's with him?" Masako asked.

It was then that I spotted sadist sensei next to her, "I don't know. He's been acting strange the entire Winter Cup."

"You don't think that's going to affect his performance do you?" she asked.

"No, when we were watching the tapes of our next opponent Kise was fired up over one particular player," Kasamatsu interrupted.

"Who's our next opponent?" I asked.

Kasamatsu looked at me with a disappointed face, "It's not like we're going up against them in a couple hours, but Fukuda."

My brother looked at me, "Haizaki?" he asked.

I nodded, "Do you know him?" Kasamatsu asked me.

"Yeah, he's sorta my best friend, but Kise and him do not get along," I replied.

Kasamatsu looked at me with a pensive look before saying, "Okay, we're going to warm up."

"You go ahead, taking a walk sounds like a good idea right now, I think I'm going to go for one," I said.

We separated, and I walked swiftly in the night air, trying to keep myself from vomiting. I was feeling very conflicted, I wanted Kise to win, but I didn't want Shogo to lose. "Shira senpai?" I heard to the side of me.

I looked to my right and was confronted with a petite girl with pink fluffy hair, "Sakura," I breathed.

"Are you okay, you look sick," she asked.

I smiled, "I'm fine, must be the weather."

"Yeah, it's cold. I saw Haizaki," she said suddenly.

"What?" I asked.

"I saw him a couple of minutes ago, he was beating up this guy from Yosen and this woman. Kagami and Kise were there too," she explained.

"What guy from Yosen?" I asked.

"I don't know his name, but he has bangs covering half of his face," she said.

"It's Himuro then, can't say I feel too bad about that, I don't like him," I said.

Sakura laughed, "Still as brutal as ever senpai."

"Hey Sakura, do you know where Haizaki went, I need to talk to him," I asked her.

"He went that way," she said pointing towards a small bridge.

"Thanks," I said walking off.

I walked the way she pointed for about five minutes before I caught sight of Haizaki, "Shogo," I called out.

He turned towards me, "Shira."

I jogged up to him and gave him a big hug, "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"Yeah," he said hugging me back.

"So, I was just informed our teams will be playing each other in an hour or two," I said.

Shogo snorted, "Just now? God, you are a horrible manager."

"That has been established," I laughed.

"Hey," Shogo said.

"What?" I asked.

"It's okay if you want your team to win," he said.

"We'll deal with this like we always do; you're separate from my issue with Kise," he added.

I took a moment to respond, "It's not that...I just don't want to see either of you hurt," I muttered.

Shogo looked at me, "Are you in love with him?"

I was taken aback at his sudden question, "What?"

He grunted, "Tch, don't lie to me; your face is completely red."

"Shogo...I don't-" I started.

"Don't lie to yourself either," he said aggressively.

I looked down, angry at him because he was right. It had been a long time since Kise confessed to me, so long that I barely ever thought about it and just went along with him. I had stopped asking myself whether I had any love for him and before I knew it I was in love with the idiotic blonde. Nowadays I couldn't be confronted about it without my entire face turning red and Kise had become such a big part of my life, I couldn't imagine it without him. I hated that Shogo saw right through me, but regardless of my feelings, this game was something that was between the two of them.

I walked over to Shogo and wrapped my arms around him, "Have you told him yet?" he asked.

"I'll tell him when I'm on my deathbed," I said, smiling into his shirt.

Shogo laughed, "Hey Sho?" I said.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Even though you're better at basketball than me, we'll always be bros," I said.

He was quiet for a moment, "Shi, are you on drugs?" he asked me.

I nuzzled my face into his pastel pink shirt, "No, I'm just feeling American tonight."

* * *

Hey there! I wanted to thank everyone who follows/favorites/reads this and especially those who review. To Amethyst, I so happy you like this so much and I hope

you enjoyed this chapter, because love is definitely in the air between the two. To amy1945, there was a little bit of jealous Kise in this chapter, but there will be

major jealousy in the last ten chapters because my life would not be complete with torturing Kise (I also feel as well that jelly Kise is the best).


	22. Chapter 22

After Shougo and I parted ways, I walked around in a daze due to my recent realization of my love for Kise. I wanted to slap myself out of it, to remind my brain that he was a young, idiotic, dumb cheerful blonde who doesn't know anything about life. Only it didn't work because my brain slapped me back with how wonderful he was; how I got the best of both worlds with Kise; how endearing he was when he was a puppy dog and how powerful he was when he was serious; how he was completely committed to me even when I rejected him; how he worried about me even when he and I both knew that he was the one who needed to be taken care of. And then of course there was the fact that my brain made me painfully aware of; that all of it meant nothing because I was in love with him. He could be some ax murderer roaming the street and it still wouldn't change that. I was wandering like that for a while, heading towards the locker rooms in a slow manner when I was brought out of my thoughts, "Shiracchi."

Kise's voice snapped me back to reality and I just stared at him blankly, at a loss for words. I actually had a lot of words swimming through my head, but I didn't think, "Hey, I just got back from meeting with my best friend, who also happens to be your enemy and someone you're playing against in less than an hour, and and he totally called bullshit on me not having feelings for you, so it is confirmed I am in love with your dumb face, but I'm so scared of telling you this because despite all the things you say you love about me, a part of me still thinks the only reason you like me is because I rejected you," was the best thing to say before a match. "Hey there...Kise," I tried to say calmly.

He frowned, "Are you okay Shiracchi? You're acting strange."

I put my hand on my hip awkwardly, "I'm fine."  
Kise laughed, "You're a horrible liar."

"I am aware," said quietly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I sighed, "Nothing, just wondering about the mysteries of the universe."

"Shiracchi, that's quite a heavy topic; what made you start thinking about it right before one of our games?" he asked smiling.

"I just met up with a friend and they enlightened me on something," I answered as I pushed on his back and maneuvered him towards the locker room.

"Who's this friend?" Kise asked quizzically.

I smirked, "Why blondie?" Are you jealous?"

He looked down, "Yes."

I was startled by his answer and I immediately blushed a bright red, "That was sarcasm Kise, you don't answer it like that."

"But it's the truth; I'm a selfish person Shiracchi, I want you to be with me and only me. I get uncomfortable when you're so chummy with other guys," he said rubbing the back of his head.

"Why, they're just friends?" I asked while laughing.

"Because I know they see what I see, you're so amazing Shiracchi, a man can't call himself a man seriously if he's too stupid not to at least try to make a woman like you his-ssu," Kise answered.

My cheeks burned and I stayed silent; I couldn't think of a way to respond to that. We were walking in silence for a good five minutes when it occurred to me that this type of conversation was something a couple would have a discussion about, and that Kise and I bickered and talked to each other like one even though I rejected him. God knows I've acted like more of a girlfriend to Kise in the past eight months then I ever did in my years with Imayoshi. Thankfully the quiet didn't last long, because when we finally reached the locker rooms Kasamatsu was waiting for us and threw a shoe at Kise's face yelling, "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU TWO BEEN!?"

"Oww, Kasamatsu senpai, that hurt-ssu," Kise pouted.

"We were just out for a nightly stroll, calm down Yuki," I said.

His eyebrows furrowed, "Get in the locker room. Now."

"Aye captain," I said as Kise tried to drag me inside.

The three of us had almost reached the door and I blame myself for the awkwardness that ensued. If I hadn't delayed our journey into the locker room, we probably would've not run into the Fukuda Sogo team on the way into theirs. It was Ishida that called out to me, "Shira."

I swung my head around to see my Kiyoshi Teppei doppelganger, "Oh hi Ishi," I said smiling.

I stepped over to him and gave him a hug, noticing an irritated looking Shogo next to him. He seemed to be glaring at me, and his gaze followed me when I stepped back to Kise and Kasamatsu, "Ehh, Shiracchi, you know these guys!?" I heard Kise say next to me.

I turned to look at him with the most disappointed face I could muster, and I'm pretty sure everyone was looking at him the same way; even Shougo. I let out a long sigh and started shaking his shoulders saying, "Blondie, this is the last time I will repeat my school history; I attended Teiko middle school and then Fukuda for two years before I transferred to Kaijo, of course I know them."

"I see," Kise said thoughtfully, before turning to glare at Shogo.

Shogo gave him a devilish smirk saying, "Nice to see you again Ryouta, you know, right before I beat you into the ground."

Kise narrowed his eyes, "And what makes you so sure you can, Shougo?"

Shougo grunted, "I will, one way or another."

At this point I was trying but failing to hold in my laughter, it might've been a stress reaction by the way everyone was looking at me, "I'm sorry, but I can't deal with the way you say his name, does someone have a tissue?" I asked nearly crying.

"Shiracchi, are you okay?" Kise asked concerned.

"No," I said still laughing.

"Here, I have a towel," Kasamatsu said as he handed it to me.

I took the towel and wiped my eyes, "Thank you Yuki."

"Why are you laughing so hard?" he asked me, cocking his eyebrow.

I cleared my throat before doing the imitation, "Ryyyoooooota," I said in my best Shougo voice.

Kise looked unamused for once, Kasamatsu had started snickering, Ishida was doing his best to hold in his laughter, and Shougo pouted slightly and looked away with a small smile. "We need to get ready for the match, I suggest you do the same," Kise said coldly as he pushed Kasamatsu and I into the room.

I stopped laughing for a second, "Don't throw a tantrum Sho, you know I live to make fun of you," I said and winked at him when he looked at me.

The door of the locker room slammed shut and the atmosphere was immediately tense, mostly due to Kise's energy. He had taken a seat on a bench and had his hands balled into fists, "Kise, what's with you and that guy?" Kasamatsu asked.

"Nothing worth mentioning," Kise said through gritted teeth.

Kasamatsu gave me a questioning look, but I just looked away; I wanted to stay away from all of this as much as possible. Even though I was pretty sure that was not going to happen.

* * *

I felt like I wanted to throw up, or run away and change my name so no one could ever find me again and I could live a simple life away from these teenage boys. On one side of this court, I have my best friend and delinquent soul mate. On the other, is my teammate and the person I'm in love with.

I was sitting on the bench next to Nakamura with my head down, if I was honest with myself; I didn't want to watch this game. Kise had abandoned all his cheerfulness and whimsy, he wasn't laughing or jumping around, he hadn't asked me for a good luck kiss or even looked at me since we got on the court. Shogo was the same.

I was half relieved when the game started, because it felt like up until this point there was so much tension, like someone was pulling a rubber band and had let go. Although the part of me that wasn't relieved couldn't shake the feeling that the person's face who the rubber band would snap back at would be mine.

The ball went to Kaijo first, going to Hayakawa, Kasamatsu, and then to Moriyama who scored a three. Everyone who was watching, even me, could tell that Shougo was not going to let up on Kise, this was definitely more of a match between Kise and Shougo than it was between Fukuda and Kaijo. Kise copied one of Fukuda's player's moves and Haizaki was quick to do the same with Moriyama. Of course after that it was made clear how the two's abilities differ, Kise was a copycat, Shougo was a thief, but I already knew that. If I was surprised by anything it was Kaijo's reaction to Shougo's ability, it was if they hadn't known about it beforehand. I quickly scratched the idea that Kise didn't tell them because he wanted an even playing field and realized that Kise didn't tell them because he didn't want them interfering with his showdown against Shougo. It was childish, selfish, and reminiscent of an older version of Kise, "He's acting like he did at Teiko," I muttered to myself.

"Did you say something?" Nakamura asked me.

"No," I responded.

Shougo pretty much dominated Kise the first half of the game and I could tell Kise was faltering. After a public encouragement from Kuroko though, he seemed to come back around. Although Shougo continued to be a cocky asshole into the first quarter, I could tell something had changed about the way Kise was playing, "What's he going to do?" I asked Nakamura.

Nakamura looked at me surprised, "I'm shocked you noticed, usually you space out during games."

"This is different, and it's just he looks like he did when he played against Aomine," I said.

"He's about to use a new technique," Nakamura said.

"New technique?" I asked.

"Perfect copy, he's going to copy moves from the generation of miracles," Nakamura explained.

"Really? Is that okay? I mean, he's still having trouble with his leg-" I started.

"Don't worry, coach will make sure he doesn't strain himself to much," Nakamura interjected.

The game was winding down, and Kise's perfect copy had led Kaijo to being back in the lead. I was happy, but pained when I saw the frustration in Shougo's eyes. If someone asked me two years later if I was really surprised what with Shougo's character and morals that he did something like that my answer would have to be no. However, I wasn't thinking about Shougo's character that night, and when it happened I wanted to run onto the court and punch him in the face, but I couldn't, I could only widen my eyes as far as they would open, bite the inside of my mouth so hard it bleeds, and grip Nakamura tightly. A grip that was returned, because he was just as surprised and worried as I was.

* * *

Hi there! Sorry for the short-ish chapter, but this is really more of a set up for the next chapter which is so drama filled I love it and I am a horrible person for what

I did, but I'm not gonna spoil it *zips lips*. Anywho, I wanted to thank everyone who supports this story and most of all the lovely beings that leave reviews; to Dark

angel2155, I am glad that you liked how Shira didn't like Himuro, to be honest, I totally let myself be biased because Himuro is not my favorite character, but I feel

Shira's attitude towards him is the same and with her personality, she doesn't get people being fickle and probably thinks he just needs to get over himself. To

Amethyst, this chapter was definitely the tension part of that match, and next chapter is the whole release of that tension and the drama is bountiful. To amy1945,

I'm so happy you liked the introduction of her brother because I hadn't mentioned him in forever and I wanted to keep everyone guessing like, who is this mysterious

man? Surprise! It's her bro and he literally can not find a single fuck to give.


	23. Chapter 23

I don't know whether the sound of Kise's foot crunching was actually audible or if my brain made up a noise to go with the visual. When I saw Shougo's foot slam down on Kise's I felt a train of emotions hit me, and I couldn't process anything. I saw Shougo go for a dunk, but Kise blocked it and the match ended with us winning by three points. I sat on the bench for a second, not knowing what to do or how to feel. I was happy that we won, but I was also sad for Shougo; I know how much this meant to him. In a way, if I absolutely had to pick who I wanted to win this match it would be him. Kise didn't have to prove anything, he was already great and people accepted and admired him, Shougo didn't have that luxury thanks to his personality. I quickly gathered myself and mustered a small smile, "Whoa there Yuki, you looked like you were about to kiss Kise," I joked.

"Shut up," he shot back at me, but I could tell he was holding back a smile.

"Shiracchi, we won!" Kise said, pulling me into a hug.

"Yeah we did," I mumbled and looked past his shoulder where Shougo was glaring at me.

I felt myself being picked up by Kise and carried to the locker rooms, "Kise, you smell like sweat," I whined.

"I thought you liked the way I smelled," he whined back.

I laughed, "Well you smell like flowers and sweat, which is not pleasant."

"Shiracchi, you're so mean," he whined.

He finally let me down, "Wait, Shiracchi, where are you going?" he asked, grabbing my hand.

"Umm, unless you all want to give me a free strip show, I was going to get something to drink while you guys changed," I said, pointing to the rest of the team who were starting to peel off their clothes.

Kise blushed, "Okay, I'll see you soon."

I left the locker room and headed towards the vending machine; I inserted my money and chose the drink I wanted. I clicked the button but nothing came out. I stared at the machine for about five minutes before the shock of the what happened in the game wore off and my anger came boiling up to the surface and I kicked the machine hard. "Hey, don't hit the machine," a worker said to me.

"Why don't I hit your face instead asshole?" I seethed at him.

The guy gave me a terrified look and walked away from me quickly. I sighed angrily at the machine and decided to take a short walk, and if I found Shougo on my stroll and my foot accidentally made my way into his ass, so be it.

I was walking for a couple of minutes when I heard a voice squeal, "Shira senpai, over here!"

I looked at where the voice came from and saw Momoi standing next to Kuroko, who was looking concernedly at something. I walked briskly over to them, "Hey guys, what's up?"

Momoi laughed nervously, "Well..um...look for yourself."

I looked at where she had pointed and saw Shougo lying on the ground with Aomine standing over him. Aomine noticed me and walked over saying, "It couldn't be helped."

"It's okay, you just did what I was coming to do," I huffed before turning my attention to the idiot on the ground.

"Shira-kun, we're going to go before someone sees us," I heard Kuroko say behind me.

"Sure thing," I mumbled as I walked over to Shougo, who was getting up slowly.

He looked up at me with a menacing glare and I had to put my hands in my pocket they were shaking so much in anger, "Don't give me that look, if anyone's going to be glaring at anyone, it's going to be me glaring at you."  
He stood up, "What the fuck are you even here for Shira? Go back to your twinkle toes boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend, and that was a horrible insult. If you're going to bash Kise in front of me at least use something original," I spat back at him.

"Whatever," he scoffed.

"No, not whatever. You know...you know I can't stand violence over something as stupid as basketball. I didn't talk to Makoto for months after what he did to Kiyoshi. Any issues with Kise could've have been dealt with outside of this; one on one; like men, but no, you just had to pull some pansy ass move like that didn't you?" I said as my voice rose in anger.

He was quiet, "AND YOU STAND HERE AND EXPECT ME TO RESPECT YOU AS A FRIEND? AS A BROTHER?" I yelled at him.

His lips twitched in agitation and he snapped, "Do you think for one second that he would understand us!? DO YOU? You think he'll stick around when the smoke clears and you're not some shiny toy that doesn't like him? WELL? I"M YOUR FRIEND. I'VE STUCK BY YOU FOR YEARS AND YOU SHOULD BE THE ONE DEFENDING ME NOT ATTACKING ME!"

"AND I'VE DONE THAT FOR YEARS, BUT YOU'RE INDEFENSIBLE!" I screamed back at him.

Then I was quiet and he was quiet, both with our heads down, that's probably why I didn't see him coming. He grabbed my arm and I let out a yelp of surprise right before I felt his lips on mine. I immediately pulled away and slapped him, "What the hell are you doing?"

He rubbed his head, "I'm sorry Shi, I was just seeing something."

"Just seeing something?" I mocked.

"Shi...ra..cchi," I heard from behind us.

I swung around to see Kise, looking at us with wide eyes, "Blondie, this isn't w-" I started.

"Haizawa senpai," the name caused me to flinch because I hadn't heard him call me that in so long, "Kise," I said in response.

He hung his head, "I see...I see now, this was your goal from the beginning wasn't it? You were never really my friend, all you wanted to do was hurt me. Well you know what Haizawa senpai? My foot might hurt right now, but that doesn't compare to how much pain my heart's in."

If it was a different time, if he didn't look up at me with those stone cold eyes that he looked at opponents with, if I didn't feel like a door was being slammed in my face, I would've laughed at the cheesiness of his line. Just mere hours ago I would have commended him for being the only person I knew who could deliver a line like that and still have hundreds of girls swoon over him, but not now. Not when I feel like my oxygen has been cut off, not when I; Haizawa "Bad Girl" Shirahime, is rendered incapable of moving because her whole world is crumbling down over a guy. I couldn't even run after the idiot.

When Kise was out of sight and I registered the fact that staring at the spot where he was for five minutes straight was creepy, I made a move to walk away. Shougo tried to say something to me but I stopped him with my hand, "You've done enough today," I said as my voice cracked.

I wandered around aimlessly after that, and was pretty much in a daze until I heard my name being called. I looked at the person running towards me, "Hi Rima," I said.

"Hi," she said breathlessly, "It feels like forever since I've seen you."

I nodded, "Hey, do you want to go over to my house for a sleepover?" she asked excitedly.

"I don't know if I'm really up for it tonight," I said.

"Please," she pouted, "I miss spending time with you."

* * *

"Are you okay?"

"Hmm?" I asked.

"You seem out of it," Rima said.

"I'm fine," I said unconvincingly.

"Are you sure? You don't seem like yourself," she observed.

I plopped myself down on her bed, "Boys are stupid," I said.

She climbed up on the bed with me, "Are you having problems with Shougo?" she asked.

"Him and Kise," I replied.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Kise saw Shougo and I together and I think he misunderstood some things," I said.

"He would do that," she scoffed, "Did you try and clear things up?"

"I tried texting him a couple of times, but he hasn't answered," I responded.

Rima smiled, "Well, you can't let that bug you too much, you can't explain things to him if he won't let you, so let's have fun tonight."

"I'll try," I said.

"There's always tomorrow's game," she said.

"I don't think I'm going to go," I said.

"Why?" Rima asked me.

"Kise's upset with me and it's a big match, they don't need any distractions," I said.

"Then just come watch," she whined.

"I'm not going," I said.

"I can't believe you made me come," I said.

"You know you wanted to watch the game," Rima teased me.

"Hey honey," she said, turning away from me and looking at Hayakawa, who was walking towards us.

"Hi," he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"So, eyebrows, about why I'm not on the court with you guys-" I started.

"We know," he interrupted.

I looked at him in surprise, "Not specifica(r)y, Kise was c(r)ear(r)y down last night and we asked him what happened," he explained.

"And he said?" I asked.

Hayakawa coughed, "He said that you and the guy with the co(l)n(l)ows were (r)overs and conspi(l)ed against him."

"That's bullshit," I said instantly.

"We know, we t(l)ied to make him unde(l)stand that, but he wou(r)dn't listen," Hayakawa said.

"He's a child," I spat.

Hayakawa nodded, I sighed in frustration and turned to Rima, "I think I might just watch from the back."

"Okay," Rima said softly.

* * *

I didn't end up alone in the very back, I easily spotted Aomine and Momoi sitting back there. "Why did you have to do that with Kagami? We got horrible seats because of it," I heard Momoi whine at Aomine as I approached them.

"Don't nag me woman," I heard him respond.

I sat behind them and blew on Aomine's neck saying, "Hey there brown sugar."

He shivered and looked at me, "What the hell are you doing back here?" he asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," I said and began watching the game.

Kagami and Kuroko were great, but Kise was amazing. So amazing that I couldn't take it and ended up leaving after the third quarter. I got something to drink and sat down against a wall. I was rubbing my head in frustration when I felt someone next to me, "Hey."

"Hey," I said back.

"Kaijo lost," he said.

My eyes widened in shock, "But I was sure…"

"Of course, because you have faith in him, it was only by a point anyway," he said.

I was quiet and he continued speaking, "Momoi asked me to see if you wanted to grab lunch at Maji burger."

I sighed, "Okay Aomine."

"I can't imagine you being more enthusiastic," he said sarcastically.

"Don't sass me boy," I said getting up.

I felt sorry for them really, I wasn't much company. We had gotten our food, sat down, and settled into an uncomfortable silence. "How's history?" Aomine asked.

"It's actually my favorite subject now; you're a miracle worker," I replied.

Silence again. "So," Aomine said with a mouthful of food, "What happened between you and Kise?"

"Dai-chan," Momoi chided, "That was rude."

"Nice transition blueberry; how did you know?" I asked.

"Just a guess," he said.

"The whole Shougo thing backfired on me," I said.

"What happened?" Momoi asked.

I sighed, "He is currently under the impression that Shougo and I are lovers and have been plotting against him this whole time."

Aomine snorted, "Really?"

"Yeah, you know how he is," I said.

"Yeah, but that's farfetched even for him," Aomine said.

"I'm sure I could set him straight, but he won't talk to me," I said.

Momoi smiled, "Give him some time, I'm sure it'll work itself out."

"I don't know, the way he looked at me...like he never wanted to see me again...it might not ever be resolved," I said in a melancholy tone.

"Shira senpai," Momoi said softly, maybe because she saw the sadness in my eyes or maybe because she was someone who suffered from unrequited love herself.

She smiled, "Maybe we can go shopping or something to cheer you up."

"Some other time Momoi, I'm feeling really tired right now. These past few days have been...trying for lack of a better word," I said, standing up.

* * *

Hi there, sorry about another short chapter, but I hope the drama sorta makes up for it. I just wanted to thank amy1945 for the review, last chapter was definitely

the "tense" chapter and this is the one where it all boils over, so I hope you liked it.


	24. Chapter 24

/"So," Kasamatsu said, "Are you coming to practice today?"

I looked at him with an uninterested face, "No, just like I didn't yesterday, or the day before that, or the week before that, or the month before that."

"Okay I get it, isn't coach trying to force you to go?" he asked.

"I have the highest grade in his class, so it isn't really necessary for me to go anymore," I said boredly.

"I think what Kasamatsu's really asking is when are you and Kise going to make up. It's been months now," Rima said.

"I stopped trying to call and text him a couple of weeks ago, I can't do anything if he won't talk to me so if you want the status of our now non existent friendship you should be asking him," I said.

Kasamatsu scowled, "I tried, but everytime I bring it up to him he acts completely immature about it, and I end up just kicking the idiot."

"That makes me happy," I said.

"Shira," Rima scolded, "That's childish."

"What?" I asked defensively, "This whole thing isn't by my choice, if it was up to me this whole thing would've been settled that night."

"Sorry," Rima said.

"I miss his food," I said looking out the window as a pang of hunger hit my stomach.

"Here," I heard Rima as she brought a piece of food up to my mouth.

I accepted the food and it helped with my hunger, but it didn't make me miss Kise any less. I was learning the hard way that the whole absence makes the heart grow fonder thing was an unfortunate truth of life. My feelings for Kise were like they were that night at the winter cup, only amplified tenfold. Because everything reminded me of Kise now that he was gone, even my own house or room wasn't safe because I looked at my bed and remembered when he took me home from the hospital, or I walked into the kitchen and was reminded of that stupid pink apron and how many times he cooked for me at that stove. It was horrible really, a slow torture that left me in a constant irritable state.

The bell rang for the end of lunch and Hayakawa, Rima, and Kasamatsu headed towards the gym. I on the other hand, left the school alone, and took the train home alone, and walked home alone. It was reminiscent of my first month at Kaijo, and I would be lying if I said that with the exception of Kise, there was a sense of relief with my newfound solitude. I had always been a more independent person with only a few friends, but this past year had been different. There were always all these new people around and I was always doing something, it was nice sometimes, but I was happy to have time to myself again. It was another reason I preferred delinquents to any other type of person, no one was too chummy or clingy, it was a nice balance between togetherness and separation when I was with my own type of person. I wish I had been able to continue my isolation when I got home, but as soon as I walked in the door I noticed a figure seated on my couch, a very unwelcome figure I might add. "What are you doing here?" I practically growled.

"I needed to talk to you and I figured three months was enough of a cooldown period," was his response.

I sat down on the couch next to him, "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"I thought I'd start out with I'm sorry," he said.

I gave him silence as my response, "Shi, I really am sorry."

"Shougo, I don't really think I'm the person you should be apologizing to," I said glaring at him.

"I know what I did was wrong, but there's now way in hell that I'm apologizing to Ryota," he scowled.

I sighed, "Besides that, there was the whole kissing thing that we have to talk about. What the hell was that?"

He buried his head in his knees, "That wasn't what you thought it was, I was just checking."

"Checking what?" I asked him.

"I was scared that he was taking you away from me, alright? You're the only person who puts up with my shit and I felt like I was losing you, and I've never felt that way towards someone okay? I love you Shi...I was just making sure that I wasn't in love with you," he explained.

"By the way I'm not," he added on.

I nudged his shoulder, "You know, you make it really hard for me to be mad at you."

He smiled, "Well that's a good thing because I don't know if I could stand you not talking to me for six months like you did with Hanamiya."

"I still haven't completely forgiven you yet," I said smirking at him.

"Well will this help?" he asked, taking off the black beanie he had been wearing.

My smirk turned upwards into a full blown smile, "Dawww," I cooed.

"Shut up," he said turning away from me.

I heard a knock on the door and got up to answer it. Upon swinging the door open, I was confronted with a small pink haired girl carrying a huge canvas that was taller than her, "Sakura, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I had to give you something," she said.

"Wait, how do you know where I live?" I asked her.

"I have my ways," she answered and made her way through the door.

"Haizaki, your hair looks different," she said to Shougo when she saw him.

"I know, isn't it great? Back to the way it was in middle school," I commented cheerily.

"Here, let me help you with that," Shougo said, taking the canvas away from Sakura.

"How chivalrous of you," I said suspiciously.

"I can be nice," he snapped at me.

"Sure," I said unconvinced.

"Anyway, what is that and why did you have to give it to me?" I asked.

Sakura smiled, "It's your graduation present, it took me weeks to finish."

"Ta da," she said, turning the canvas over to me.

When I looked at the canvas I saw me; literally me. "You did this?" I asked her in disbelief.

"Yeah, I'm in the art club, remember senpai?" she responded.

"Unbelievable," Shougo muttered.

"Thank you Sakura, it's so big I don't know where I'm going to put it," I said, giving her a hug.

"That's what she said," I added quickly after that.

"Senpai…" Sakura said disappointedly.

"Don't judge me," I said in response.

"What are you guys doing?" Sakura asked.

"Just hanging out," I replied.

"Yeah," Shougo said turning the T.V on.

I heard the familiar music and voices of a certain soap opera and looked at the screen, "Oh that's last week's episode, she broke up with the butler, you know? It was all because she found out his family had arranged a marriage for him years ago," Sakura said.

"It's crap," Shougo grunted.

"I like this show," Sakura protested.

"I guess we can watch it," Shougo said to her.

I took the remote and clicked the T.V off, "You know what? I'm not really in a T.V watching mood. How would you guys feel about going to Tokyo?"

"It's a little late to go and come back," Sakura said.

"We can spend the night at my older brother's," Shougo said.

"And it's a Friday so you don't have to worry about school," I said.

Sakura looked at me with doe eyes, "Teenage things?"

I nodded, "Teenage things."

She stood up excitedly, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

* * *

"I'm so happy you called me," Momoi said cheerfully.

It should have been awkward, but it wasn't. I had called Momoi when we got to Tokyo because I felt bad that she had wanted to go shopping a bunch of times and my response was always "later" or "some other time". So it was currently me, Momoi, Sakura, Shougo, and Aomine standing in a circle on the street. It should've been weird between the two given that the last time they saw each other was when Aomine punched Shougo in the face, but it wasn't. What can I say, boys are weird. "There's this mall that just opened up that I wanted to see," Momoi said.

"The one downtown?" Sakura asked.

Momoi nodded, "I saw the ad for their opening in a magazine," Sakura said, "It sounds like fun, let's go."

We walked there in twenty minutes, "Wow, they have so many specialty stores here," Momoi said looking around.

Both Aomine and Haizaki made a beeline for the sports shops and I was dragged away by Momoi and Sakura. And that's how I ended up in a clothing outlet, with a pink dress on, willing myself to have a heart attack or something so the paramedics would have to cut me out of these clothes. As soon as I got the chance I dipped out of the store and went in search of Aomine and Haizaki. I found them at an athletic store, arguing about which pair of shoes they thought was better, "They both look pretty dumb to me," I said.

They both turned to me, "You don't even know what you're talking about," Shougo said to me.

"Yeah, you don't understand," Aomine backed him up.

I laughed, "You boys are so easy to poke fun at."

"Why are you even here? Aren't you supposed to be trying on clothes or something?" Shougo asked me.

I went in between Aomine and Shougo saying, "They put me in a pink dress...with a bow...a pink bow."

Both of them snorted, "I feel so violated," I said.

"Is Kise still being a little bitch?" Aomine asked me suddenly.

Shougo stiffened at the mention of the blonde and looked at me questioningly, "Yeah, pretty much," I answered Aomine.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, I've chosen to ignore it for now and move on," I said.

"Shira senpai, that's where you went," I heard voices that turned out to be Momi and Sakura outside the store.

"Yeah, sorry," I said to them.

Momoi smiled, "Don't worry about it, we got you that dress."

"Yay," I said through gritted teeth, "Thank you so much."

Sakura yawned, "Senpai, I'm pretty tired, can we go?" she asked me.

"Yeah, I am too," Shougo said.

"Going home sounds like a good idea," Momoi added.

"You guys can go, I think I'm going to go walk around for a bit," I said.

"I'll go with you," Aomine said, "Satsuki, are you okay to get home by yourself?"

Momoi nodded and smiled, "Have fun you two!"

After they all left, Aomine and I wandered around the mall for an hour or so and then walked around Tokyo. We made our way out of downtown and into a more urban area, away from the city and into a more suburban place with parks and families. It was when we passed a small worn down park that we heard someone yell, "AHOMINE!"

We looked towards where the voice was coming from, which was the basketball court, and saw Kagami waving at us. "What's up Bakagami?" Aomine growled.

It was at this point in my life where I confirmed the teenage boy growling theory. "Hey Shira," Kagami said to me.

"Hey hottie, heard about your win at the Winter Cup. Congrats, sorry I wasn't there," I said back.

"It's okay, I heard about you and Kise," he said.

I turned to Aomine, "Why does everyone know about this?"

"Kuroko told me," Kagami explained.

"Why does my sweet panda know?" I asked.

"He came back after Momoi and Aomine left and saw the whole thing, but I guess you didn't notice him," Kagami said.

"Damn him and his mysterious ways," I muttered.

"Ahomine, want to play one on one?" Kagami asked.

Aomine looked at me, "Go ahead brown sugar," I told him, "I won't be mad if either of you decide to take your shirts off just saying."

Both of them laughed and went to the middle of the court as I sat on a bench. It was the most relaxed I had been in weeks, the sky was a fiery red on one side and a dull blue on the other; a sign of the impending nighttime. It was quiet, except for the methodical drumming of the basketball and a couple of birds chirping; both Aomine and Kagami were too into the game to talk smack to one another. The game went on until the sky was black and Aomine's phone started to ring loudly. He signaled for a break and went to answer it, "Sorry guys, my parents say I have to get home," he said.

"No problem," Kagami replied.

"What was the score?" I asked Kagami as we watched Aomine walk away.

"Draw," he said breathlessly.

My stomach growled and Kagami laughed, "Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered.

"Do you want to come over to my place? It's just around the corner and I can cook you something," Kagami asked.

"Sure," I said.

As we walked to his apartment Kagami said, "Normally I would've offered to take you to Maji Burger but I spent this months fast food budget already."

I laughed, "It's okay."

When I got there, Kagami insisted that I sit down while he made dinner, "Are you sure? I'm not much of a cook, but I'm pretty skilled with a knife," I said winking at him.

He chuckled, "Thank you, but you're my guest."

"What a gentleman," I mumbled as I looked around the house while he made us food.

When the food was done and I was finally able to eat it, I patted Kagami on the shoulder, "Bro, this is delicious."

"Thanks," Kagami said in response.

"So, where are you staying tonight?" Kagami asked me.

I groaned, "All the way across town."

Kagami looked at me concerned, "I don't think you should make that trip alone at night, you can stay here."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said.

"Are your parents going to be okay with that?" I asked.

"I live alone, my dad's back in the states," he explained.

"Oh, that must be tough," I said.

"Yeah, he was supposed to move with me, but he got caught up in work," Kagami said.

"I understand, I practically live by myself too because of how much my parents travel for business," I said.

Kagami nodded, "So it's fine if you stay here."

"Hottie," I said.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"You are a godsend," I said.

He laughed, and I didn't have the heart to tell him I was glad he said I could stay not because I was scared of the trip, but I was just too lazy to go across town.

* * *

Hi there! I wanted to thank all of those lovely people who give me life and post reviews, so to Wolf, it was weird writing a sad Shira because I'm so used to her just

making sarcastic comments at people, but it'll get better. Maybe. At the very least the last three chapters of this will be warm and fuzzy I promise you. AyatoFann,

I'm so glad you like my story and I feel the same way, it was a slow build up, but the dramatic parts of this fic are my favorite. To XxTealJadexX, ah yes, I saw the

progression of your reviews as you went through the story and it was just beautiful. Thank you for mentioning the best ass comment because that is one of my

best moments in this fic partially because Kise does in fact, have the best ass in the GOM and Knb. The anime makes it pretty clear by the five billion close ups they

do of his ass and anyone who says differently doesn't know what they're talking about. If it gives you any consolation about this being an unfinished work, I update

every Wednesday and Sunday without fail, so at least you won't be waiting for an update six months from now. To amy1945, I am in agreement with you about

Imayoshi. I essentially killed him off. He's as dead as his and Shira's relationship.


	25. Chapter 25

."So..about Kise," Sakura began.

I sighed loudly and said, "I don't want to talk about it; I really just want this weekend to be Kise free, which shouldn't be hard because he's still not talking to me."

"I'm on your side senpai, I just thought that now that we both hate him again we could talk about how horrible he is," Sakura said excitedly.

I gave her an apathetic look, "I'd rather not discuss it at all, this weekend is supposed to be fun, and my current situation with Kise is anything but fun."

"Ok I get it, touchy subject," Sakura said and looked around, 'It sure is crowded on here today."

"It's a Friday and it's rush hour, so it's bound to be crowded," I responded.

"Sorry, it'd be less packed if you didn't have to wait for me while I was in art club and we could've left earlier," Sakura said.

"No problem, most of these people will get off by the time we get out of Kanagawa," I replied.

Sakura turned around and looked out the window, "How long does it take to get to Shizuoka again? It's been a long time since I've been there with you."

"About an hour and a half," I answered.

Sakura patted her hair, "Do I look okay? I mean, do I have any paint on me or anything?"

I gave her a smile and said, "You look fine Sakura, even if you didn't Shougo would still find you attractive. Anything remotely female is his type."

Sakura immediately blushed, "Senpai, what are you even saying? I don't care what Haizaki thinks of me!"  
"Mmhmm," I mumbled sarcastically.

Sakura looked at me out of the corner of her eye, "Not that I care or anything, but does Haizaki like it when girls wear their hair up or down?"

I looked at the girl, who had her hair tied in her usual pigtails, "Like I stated before, as long as you're a girl he'll be attracted to you, and we all know you're a girl due to your drunken nakedness the last time we visited."

Sakura's face went red again and she put her head down, "Senpai..please don't mention that."

"I can bet you that Shougo's gonna mention it, in fact he'll probably suggest as soon as we get there that you strip and jump in the pool," I teased her.

Sakura laughed, "You're so cruel senpai."

I laughed back, "What can I say? My sarcastic wit knows no bounds."

Sakura smiled and fiddled with her hands the rest of the train ride. When we reached Shizuoka, we walked a familiar path to a familiar house, only this time I didn't have to kick the door open because Haizaki-nii answered it the first time. "Hey Shira," he said smiling at me and then looked at Sakura who had hid behind my back, "It's nice to see you again Sakura."

Sakura nodded saying, "It's nice to see you again too."

"So where's my little ball of sunshine?" I asked sarcastically.

"He's upstairs, probably watching porn and completely unaware of what we're subjecting him to this year," Haizaki-nii answered me.

I rubbed my hands together and laughed evilly, "Just how I like em', unguarded and vulnerable."

I headed up the stairs saying, "Sakura, you stay down here while I go get your boy toy."

"H-e's n-n-ot my boy toy," she squeaked and then looked at Haizaki-nii like a nervous puppy.

I chuckled as I walked down the hall, if anyone was going to be intimidated by one of the Haizaki brothers, it would have to be Shougo doing the intimidating, I mean, Haizaki-nii was one of the most princely people I had ever met besides Kise who I thought was Sakura's type until recently. Oh well, she might've just gotten a bad taste in her mouth for the princely type after her experience with Kise, lord knows I have. I opened Shougo's door to find that Haizaki-nii was wrong, Shougo was actually brushing up on his literature. He was _reading_ porn not watching it. I jumped on his bed, "Hey there."

He looked up from his magazine and asked lazily, "What are you doing here?"

I rubbed his head, "To wish you a happy birthday silly."

He gave me a blank stare, "My birthday's in November."

"I know that, but I didn't get to celebrate it with you last year, for the first time ever I might add," I responded.

"You sent me a stripper gram, that was enough, and you know I had like ten birthdays before I even met you," he said smirking.

"I know, but this is the last one before…" I mumbled.

"Before what?" Shougo asked mildly concerned.

"I was going to wait and tell you later, but as you know my grades pretty much suck, so I only got accepted into one college," I started to explain.

"What college," Shougo asked, probably already knowing what I was going to have to tell him.

"Tokyo University," I said.

Shougo started laughing uncontrollably, and I didn't blame him, that had been my reaction when I first heard the news, "So let me get this straight, you only got accepted into one college because you have bad grades, and that college just so happens to be a major university?" he asked, still laughing.

"Yep, mostly because the admissions lady said she liked my attitude and my Japanese History teacher pulled some strings because he knows someone who works there," I said laughing with him.

Shougo's laughs faded and he slowly stopped smiling, "And your parents don't want you to commute from Kanagawa or have you in the dorms, so they're getting you a place in Tokyo."

I nodded, "And Tokyo's over two hours from here," he stated.

I nodded again and nudged his shoulder, "I don't know what I'm gonna do without you, I barely made it through this year with you not near me. I don't know what's gonna happen when I'm even farther away from you."

Shougo slumped back into his bed, "I don't feel like doing anything Shi."

I stood up from his bed, "Come on, it's our last hurrah, plus, it's not nice to keep a lady waiting you know Sho."

He scoffed, "I don't see any lady around here."

"I wasn't talking about me," I said smiling.

He got up slightly, "Another stripper?" he asked.

I punched him in the shoulder, "No, I invited Sakura."

"Why?' he asked.

"Because you liiiiiike her," I sang in his ear.

"She's pretty hot," Shougo replied, getting up.

"No, I mean you like _her_," I said with a smile.

He snorted, "No I don't."

I smirked, "Your mouth says that you don't, but your burning cheeks say differently."

"Shut up," he said.

I rolled up the magazine that was now lying on his bed and swatted his butt with it saying, "Get a move on, I left her downstairs with your brother and she seems oddly frightened by him."

"She should be, the guy's a douche," Shougo said.

I hit him again, "You shouldn't say things like that about your older brother, you should admire him in every way and do your best to impress him."

He laughed, "No way am I developing a brother complex like you."

"Walk," I said, forcing him out of the bedroom door.

When we finally made it down the stairs Sakura and Haizaki-nii were waiting for us with big smiles, "So where are we going?" Haizaki-nii asked.

Shougo looked at me, "He's not going is he?"

Haizaki-nii threw his arm around Shougo's neck, "Of course I am, dear brother."

"I hate you," Shougo said.

"Now brother dear, I know you don't mean that," Haizaki-nii said in a mocking tone before bending down slightly and giving him an eskimo kiss.

I laughed as Shougo jerked away from him and took safety next to Sakura's form, "Hey," he said to her.

"Hey," she said, blushing and turning her head away from him.

I chuckled as Shougo blushed in response to her blush and turned to Haizaki-nii, "I was thinking we'd just walk around town and see where the night takes us."

"That sounds good, I'll pay for dinner," Haizaki-nii said to me.

"Always such a gentleman," I said as I followed him out the door, with Haizaki and Sakura trailing behind us.

We walked around until the sun went down and our stomachs started to growl, "Hungry," I whined.

Haizaki-nii laughed at me and Sakura pointed to a place saying, "The only thing around here other than shops is this bar, do you think they have food?"

I looked where she was pointing and internally groaned, she just had to see that place didn't she. It was a hole in the wall joint, so easy to miss, but keen Sakura had spotted it easily enough. I looked at Haizaki, who had stiffened, "We should find an actual restaurant," I began to say.

"This place has food," Haizaki said abruptly and headed in.

I glanced at Haizaki-nii as Sakura followed Shougo, "This is not going to end well," I mumbled.

"It's been years, let's hope for the best," Haizaki-nii said smiling at me.

"Mmhmm, you do that, I'll be laughing at you from the sidelines when this shit blows over," I said walking into the bar.

The instant I walked in there was a sense of nostalgia, my eyes adjusted to the light like I hadn't been away for years and they instantly wandered to hidden corners and crevices that I had frequented as a kid. I went over to Sakura and Haizaki, who had inhabited a table across from the bar and sat down. Haizaki-nii kept standing and said, "I'm going to order, are burgers okay for everyone?"

We all nodded and I watched as Haizaki-nii went over to the bartender, who was eyeing us, but from the dark aura surrounding Shougo I assumed that we weren't going up there anytime soon. Haizaki-nii came back to us and sat down, "They should be ready soon."

I nodded, "I've never been to a place like this before," Sakura said as her head and eyes whirled around the bar.

I laughed, "You're so cute Sakura."

"Senpai," Sakura whined.

"How's school Shira?" Haizaki-nii asked me.

"Same old same old," I said.

"Made any plans for college yet?" he asked me.

Locking eyes with Shougo I answered, "I'm going to school in Tokyo."

Haizaki-nii's eyes lit up and he smiled saying, "That's great! We can spend a lot more time together that way, I barely ever get to see you anymore."

"Yeah," I said.

"Senpai, that's so far," Sakura pouted.

"You're only one year away from college yourself fluffy girl," I said.

Sakura smiled, "And then I'll follow you wherever you go."

"Sakura," I said sympathetically.

"What?" she asked defensively, "I am your fan club president after all."

Haizaki-nii looked at me questioningly, "Don't ask, I choose to ignore it because it scares me," I said to him.

Haizaki-nii was about to say something when the bartender interrupted us with our food, he set down the burgers and a round of beer, "Guy over at the bar sent those over," he explained gruffly.

I looked over to the man he was pointing at, some skeezy slimeball who was missing half his teeth and winked at us. "Sir, you are aware we're minors," Sakura said to him in almost a whisper.

We all laughed, "Yeah, he knows," I said to her.

"Haven't seen you around these parts," the bartender said to me.

"Moved up to Kanagawa," I said standing up.

He gave me a hug and I felt his white stubble scrape against my forehead, "It's real nice to see you Shira," he said.

I hugged him back tightly, "It's nice to see you too Sanji."

I sat back down and Sakura asked me, "Do you know that guy?"

"Yeah," I said, and to lighten the mood I snatched the bottle of beer in front of her saying, "And none for you, we learned last time that your tolerance to alcohol is shit."

Shougo busted out laughing as Sakura turned red, "Do I even want to know?" Haizaki-nii asked me.

"Let's just say it involved skinny dipping, soap operas, and snuggling," I said to him.

Both Haizaki and Sakura were red by the time I finished saying that and I chuckled evilly. The next hour or so went well despite my initial feeling of doom when we had walked into the bar, it was when we left the bar and attempted to go home that we ran into problems. Skeezy guy with the dental issues was hanging around outside, drunk, and incredibly stupid. "Hey there cutie pie, wanna come home with me?" he slurred at Sakura.

"No thank you," Sakura squeaked and tried to move away, only to be stopped by skeezy, who grabbed her by the elbow.

That was what set him off, I was waiting for it all night and it had happened. I jerked my head over to Shougo, who I could tell had insurmountable rage built up inside of him from this whole ordeal. His eyes glowed and before I could blink, he had skeezy pressed up against the wall and was choking him. I made a move towards Shougo, who looked as if he was foaming at the mouth, but Sakura made it to him before me and managed to drag him away. I went to follow them, but was stopped by skeezy, "You bitch," he growled at me.

I sighed in an annoyed manner and punched him in the gut saying, "I would clock you in the mouth except for the fact if you lost any more teeth, you'd be a nuisance to anyone who was able to see your disgusting face."

I retracted my fist and walked after Shougo and Sakura, with Haizaki-nii by my side. His hand reached for mine and his fingers brushed across my knuckles, "You make me worry about you so much," he said with a concerned face.

I smiled, "I punched him in the stomach. Stomachs are soft and won't bruise my knuckles so don't worry."

"Punching Sakura in the mouth was a hell of a lot more painful," I added on.

"You punched Sakura?" Haizaki-nii asked.

"You know that's how I make friends," I said.

Haizaki-nii laughed, "Her and Shougo seem to get along."

"They better be, this whole trip was to get them together," I said.

Haizaki-nii looked at me curiously, "It's not like you to set Shougo up."

"I thought someone deserved to be happy this year," I said.

"Whoa, where did that come from?" he asked me.

"Nowhere," I said.

"Did you want to talk about it?" he asked tentatively.

"Maybe some other time," I said.

He shook his head at me, "You're acting different."

"That's probably just cause I'm tired, let me get some sleep tonight and I'll be better in the morning," I responded.

* * *

I woke up before anyone else, but that was because I went to bed before everyone else. The sky was just starting to get light and I quietly walked around the house to get to Shougo's room. I opened up his door to see that he wasn't there, but I wasn't really expecting him to be. With a sigh I got dressed quickly, grabbed an umbrella, and quietly left the house. I walked into town and stopped by the bakery and the flower shop. Armed with a doughnut which was currently dangling from my mouth and a bunch of hydrangeas, I made my way to one of the farthest edges of the town. I opened the umbrella when it started raining, I had taken it just in case because it was April.

The place that I entered was green all around, marred with stone. 48 up, 23 to the left, they were directions embedded in my brain and when I followed them, I came upon a crouching Shougo. I held the umbrella over him, set the flowers down, and kneeled next to him, "I knew you'd be here."

"Yeah, I guess I'm just that predictable," he said in a monotone voice.

The name that was engraved on the headstone we were crouched down to read Saji Eto. Saji Eto was 6"1, had short black hair, joyful brown eyes, a wiry build, his occupation was a bartender, he was supposed to be named after his father but his mother was so exhausted after she had him, she filled out his name wrong on the birth certificate. I suppose they could've changed it, but I think they already knew the type of person he was going to be. Someone who turned every single misfortune into something good; someone who laughed at everyone and everything; someone who took in stray delinquent children and taught them how to be themselves.

It all started when my mom needed someone to babysit me when I was younger. There was no one better she thought, than ex gang member Saji Eto, who had left the life to work at his father's bar. His father's bar that used to be filled with life and excitement when he was behind the bar, not anything like the shell it was now. As soon as I met Saji, I was endeared by him and his jovial ways, so when Shougo and I became friends, I of course had to take him to the bar and have him meet Saji.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little bit jealous when the two clicked and hit it off as much as they did, or that Shougo liked to spend all of his free time there, and that he went so far as calling Saji Pops. I didn't mind that part though, because Saji was the closest thing he had to a father, I was told expressedly by Shougo that they didn't talk about the "sperm donor" as they called him, most in part because they felt anyone who walked out on their family never to be seen again when Shougo could barely crawl didn't have the right to be called dad.

It had been a couple years after that, when Saji Eto's past caught up with him, and two guys from a rival gang killed him on his way home from work. To say there was a change in Shougo was an understatement, I went with him when he decided that revenge was the best way to honor Saji. I helped him beat two guys until they started to choke on their own blood because he was my best friend, and I guess part of me felt it was the right thing to do too. I watched as Shougo left that alley, and left any innocence in him behind. So, if anyone ever asked me why Shougo was the way he was, and if I ever felt compelled to tell them the truth, I would just say that life simply hit him earlier and harder than the rest of us. There was nothing more to it. "You know what you said about Kise at the Winter Cup?" I said to suddenly.

He looked at me confused, "You know, about him not being able to understand our way of life?" I explained.

"Yeah," he replied lowly.

"It may be true that a guy with a perfectly normal family, good looks, money, and no social awkwardness at all may never understand where we're coming from, but it's not so bad to have those people around Sho. If everyone in the world were like us, it would be a pretty cynical place, it's good to have those happy optimistic idiots in our lives," I said.

"I guess you're right," he said sadly.

I stood up, "Let's go home Shougo."

* * *

Hi again! Thank you to the lovely beings that leave reviews, so to Human Marshmallow, Kise and Shira are eventually going to make up because it is a KisexOC fic,

it's just going to take a long time so be warned. Thank you Amethyst for your review, and if Kise wasn't so busy feeling sorry for himself I think he would've freaked

out about Kagami and Shira being alone wolf, there will be this chapter and next chapter that are without Kise, but last chapter was really just to show

how the aftermath affected Shira, so there wasn't much plot. Sorry to disappoint, but I hope this chapter was slightly better, and there's 15 chapters left of this fic, so

you're stuck with me for another two months so don't be sad. To amy1945, thank you for commenting on Kise's immaturity because he's way too childish to be an

adult and make up with Shira in an easy manner, and thanks for calling my writing brilliant because that does so much for my little author heart, you don't even know.


	26. Chapter 26

The lids of my eyes jerked open as the train I was on made a sudden turn, before it returned to a gentle rocking motion and my eyes closed again. Unable to fall back asleep, my mind wandered over to the two phone calls I had received that were the cause of my impromptu desire to travel.

"_Shirahime, my meetings in Korea got extended, so I won't be able to come to your graduation ceremony."_

I let a small smile grace my face, my mother, always direct and straight to the point. My dad on the other hand, had been crying when he left the message on my phone.

"_Shi-honey, I'm so sorry, but my business trip is going to take longer than I expected and I won't be able to make it back from the states in time for your graduation. I'm so sorry my little Shi-darling! Take as much money out of our account as you want and go have fun with your friends!"_

I hadn't taken his direction, instead I had just withdrawn enough money to buy myself some snacks and a train ticket from Kanagawa to Akita. I had done just that and now here I am, on a train, trying to pass the time of the seven hour train ride. I wasn't disappointed, in fact I was actually relieved. My parents not being able to come was the perfect excuse for me not to go, I mean, I wasn't really into the whole graduation thing. It's not like I didn't want to go because I'd be around Kasamatsu and a certain underclassman with blonde hair would be sticking to him. And it's not like I was trying to avoid that certain blonde as if my life depended on it. That's not the reason why I didn't want to go to graduation. Not at all.

I had shaved off four hours by napping, but due to the sharp turn the train had taken, I was now wide awake. I looked around the train for some form of entertainment given that I only had a bag with some clothes and my phone which didn't have service. It was early in the afternoon, so the train was far from crowded. In fact there was only one other person on the entire train. I sighed and dug around in my bag for a book on Japanese History that Aomine had given me, and upon finding it I tried my best to sit comfortably in the hard seat of the train and cursed my lack of tall muscular teenage boys that could be used as pillows.

I must have been reading only an hour when I felt a presence slowly grow closer to me. I ignored it for the most part until I looked up from the book to rub my eyes and noticed that one other person on the train had moved into the empty seat next to me and was staring at me weirdly. I gave him a glare, suspicious that he was a pervert because of my previous track record with men on trains, "Do you need something?" I asked venomously.

He smiled at me, "That's a good book," he commented, pointing at what I was reading.

"You know it?" I asked.

"It was required reading when I was in college," he said.

"I see," I said looking down at it.

"Which college do you go to?" he asked me.

"I'll be a freshman at Tokyo University next month," I said.

"And you're already reading the required material? You must be committed to your academic career," he said.

I went back to reading and said, "Actually, I don't really give a shit about any other subject other than history, I'm reading this for fun."

The guy smiled, "So I assume that's what you're going to be studying?"

"Yeah," I answered and turned a page.

So it turned out that this guy, who told me his name was Seito, was pretty knowledgable about history. And despite my initial attitude towards him, we actually carried on a pretty nice conversation for the next three hours. I got up and grabbed my bag when the train reached Akita, "Well Seito it's been nice knowing you."

"Aren't you even going to tell me your name?" he asked.

I looked him up and down, "We discussed history, it was cool, don't make it weird," I said to him before getting off the train.

I quickly got something to eat at the station because I was starving and then grabbed a taxi to a quiet suburb and it left me in front of a quiet little house. I set my bag down and knocked on the door, only to be answered by silence. "Oh," I said to myself as I realized that I was here on a weekday, in the afternoon, and on a day when most schools were having their graduation ceremonies.

I ran after and caught the cab that had just left me, and asked him to take me to a different location. And that was how I ended up going to a high school graduation ceremony even when the whole purpose of me taking a long ass train ride here was to avoid one. As I meandered through the campus, the students of Yosen High were giving me weird looks, probably because I wasn't wearing their uniform and was carrying a duffel bag and I just looked shady in general. I didn't really mind because I quickly made my way into the classroom I was looking for and heard a surprised voice when I entered, "Shira!"

"Hey," I said nonchalantly.

"What are you doing here?"

"Do I need an excuse to come see you?" I whined to my brother.

It was then that I noticed the other person in the room and I was shocked I didn't notice him before, given that he was a giant I had previously encountered. "You," I said pointing at him, "You helped me carry the food that one time."

My brother looked at me in confusion, "Shira, you know Atsushi?"

"Yeah, hey isn't your last name really long, like MunchkinSakeBarometer or something?" I asked Atsushi.

My brother gave me a disappointed look, "It's Murasakibara."

"Sounds right," I said.

"Ne, Haizawa sensei, who is this to you?" Murasakibara asked.

"She's my younger sister, Shira," my brother answered.

"I liked Shira-chin before because she gave me candy, but I like her even more now that I know that she's related to Sensei," Murasakibara said.

My head whirled over to my brother and I said dramatically, "Nii-chan, you're not doing anything indece-"

"No," he sternly cut me off, "Atsushi just happens to be one of my best students."

I looked at Murasakibara dubiously as I watched him munch on a pocky stick and wondered if my brother had gone crazy. My brother's craziness was confirmed when I turned back to him and he had sparkles in his eyes, "In a world where most students turn their back on advanced math and science to opt for an easier class load, Atsushi bravely takes a step forward and traverses the complicated theories and formulas involved in this beautiful subject!"

"Mhmm," I hummed sarcastically as I looked back at Atsushi's lazy expression and the box of pocky that had been demolished when I had my back turned.

All of a sudden the door opened and a voice chided, "Atsushi, there you are."

I looked at the doorway, "Emo guy," my mouth said before I could stop myself, not that I cared to because I didn't like him.

He looked at me, "You, you're Kaijo's manager right?"

I straightened out my back in discomfort and said, "Was, I was their manager," with a bitter taste in my mouth.

Himuro nodded and turned to Murasakibara, "We have to go, coach wants us in the gym to say goodbye to the seniors."

Murasakibara stood up, "Okay Muro-chin, bye Shira-chin."

"Bye Atsushi," I mumbled.

"So," I heard my brother stand up from his desk, "Shall we go home?"

* * *

"You want to tell me what happened?" My brother asked me.

I was currently full from my brother's cooking, and was attempting to relax on the couch when he asked me that, "What do you mean?" I asked back.

"I called mom and dad to let them know you were here, and they said they got a call from your school saying that you didn't show up to graduation," he explained.

"Because I didn't," I said plainly.

"Why, are you mad that they couldn't make it-" he started.

"No, that's not it," I interjected.

"Then what?" he asked me again.

"I just didn't feel like it," I said and rolled over onto my stomach.

"You seem different," he observed.

"You seem different," I shot back at him.

"Mature Shira, very mature," he chided me.

I rolled over again and said, "I'm sorry, I just don't feel like talking about it tonight."

"Or ever," I added.

My brother sighed, "Okay, how long are you planning on staying?"

"Mmmm, I was thinking...till the end of time?" I said.

He laughed, "You have to move to Tokyo in two weeks."

"Yeah, and that's when I begin the soul sucking journey into adulthood and time stops," I said.

My brother ruffled my hair, "You're weird."

"That's mean," I said, instantly regretting my choice of words because a wave of sadness I was trying to hold back washed over me.

"Shira?" My brother asked.

"Hey Nii-chan, you really need to get a girlfriend or something because it's sort of depressing to think of you living in this house alone," I said to distract him.

He blushed and said, "I do have someone."

"Really? Who?" I asked him.

He turned his head away from me, "Do you remember Masako?"

"Yosen's basketball coach?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said.

I laughed more than I should have, "Basketball huh, why is it always basketball?"

My brother looked at me with a concerned look, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Why?" I asked.

"You look different," he said.

"How so?" I asked.

"It's almost like your love-struck, it's an odd way to see you."

I got up from the couch, "Yeah well, love sucks, I don't know why everyone's in such a hurry to fall in it."

* * *

Hey there, I wanted to thank the people that left reviews. To Human Marshmallow, I'm really happy you think this story's good and I'm sorry for the little bit

of feels at the end of last chapter. To both Wolf and amy1945, I have and always have *puts my hand on a bible* sworn that this fic is 40 chapters, so yes,

there is 14 chapters left for me to post currently.


	27. Chapter 27

I had been at my brother's for a week when he barged into the room I had ensconced myself in, "You need to get out of here," he proclaimed.

I had been asleep before he had made his way into my space and awoken me, "What are you doing waking me up at…" I glanced at my phone, "The crack of noon."

"I'm concerned," he said.

"Concerned about what?" I asked him defensively.

"You've been cooped up in here for a week, you've barely eaten anything, you haven't showered in three days, and all you do is lay around and watch T.V," he said.

"I'm on...vacation," I protested.

My brother looked at me unconvinced, "That's not an explanation for how you've been acting."

"Why are you acting like dad?" I asked him.

"Because you're not acting like my sister," he shot back at me.

I gave him a glare, "Whatever."

He scowled at me, "No, not whatever, if you're going to stay here then you can't just lie around like a lump all the time."

"I like being a lump, I think it suits me," I said, pulling my blankets over me.

My brother crossed his arms, "Do you want me to call Shougo and have him come out here?"

"No," I said quickly.

"So, he's the reason you're acting like this," my brother said.

"He's just a small part of it nii-chan," I grumbled.

My brother sighed, "Well, I'm putting my foot down, if you want to stay here for the duration of this week you'll have to get out of the house."

"And do what?" I asked grumpily.

My brother looked at me evilly, "I talked to our beloved cousin and she was ecstatic when I told her that you would swing by and help her out at the shop."

"You betrayed me, I don't want to spend my vacation working," I whined.

"Tough shit," my brother said as he threw a shirt at me and then proceeded to leave.

"Betrayal!" I hissed as he walked out the door.

I groaned and reluctantly gathered some more clean clothes and went to go take a shower. I let my mind rest for the first time in months as the hot water pounded against my back and cascaded down my legs before going down the drain. It was in here, with nothing to distract me, that my numbness broke. Before I could stop myself, remind myself how pathetic this would be, I felt hot tears nearly scald my skin as they traveled down my cheek. And once they started they didn't stop, it was like a geyser had popped up after a hundred year dormancy and demanded to make itself present on my face. It was a silent storm, I didn't make a sound and if anyone had been standing on the other side of the shower curtain, they would have no idea of the anguish that must've been painted on my face.

When I calmed down and got out of the shower, I theorized the reason I had cried so hard was because it was for Kise. Sure, he's the person I love, but it's always easier to cry for yourself than it is over someone else. And he was my someone else. I cried because he hurt and my whole objective, subconsciously, had been to keep him safe. To make sure that he never lost what he thought he saw in me, that Shougo wouldn't hurt him, that I could keep him close for as long as I could. In hindsight I guess it was selfish of me, but as I've stated so many times to myself; I'm not a bad girl, I'm a selfish girl.

I got dressed and headed out of the house without a word to my brother, and made my way to my cousin's candy shop. It was a pretty small, out of the way place, but anyone who managed to make their way inside would be absolutely delighted. I'd hate to boast, but my cousin does make the best "anything sweet you can imagine" in the world. When I walked in I was greeted by the smell of pure sugar and my cousin, who was a petite woman with brown hair and blue eyes. "Shira," she said coming over to me and giving me a hug, "It's been so long since we last saw each other."  
I hugged her back, "I know cuz, I rushed over to come see you, I didn't even have time to eat anything today."

I looked at my cousin with a twinkle in my eye as she gave me a shocked expression and quickly moved behind the counter saying, "What is your nii-chan thinking, is he trying to starve you? You're a growing girl, you need food."

"I know, he's a stubborn one you know?" I said passively.

My cousin came over with a plate full of assorted pastries and ushered me to a table, "Sit down and have something to eat; I just came back from lunch so I haven't opened the store yet."

She sat on the other side of the table and said, "Which means there are no customers to bother us while we catch up."

I shoved a croissant in my mouth as she rested her chin on her hands and asked me, "So what's new?"

"Nothing much," I said with a full mouth.

"You have a boyfriend yet?" she asked me smiling.

I snorted, "That would be a no."

She pouted, "But why? You broke up with your last boyfriend like three years ago."

"Two and a half years ago," I corrected her.

"That's still a long recovery time, why no one since then?" she asked.

"Just never found the right one in the right situation," I said.

"That's vague," she whined.

"Deal with it," I said with a smile.

She laughed and I heard the bell attached to the door ring, "Hey, I thought you said the shop was closed."

"It is," she said looking at the door, "Oh, it's a special customer."

"Special?" I asked as my head turned towards the door as well.

And guess who it was? MunchkinSakeBarometer Atsushi, who I am undoubtedly giving the title of Official Haizawa Family Stalker. It has a nice ring to it, right? "Atsushi this is rude, don't go into a place that says closed," a voice scolded behind him.

Of course it was my least favorite emo guy who looked at me saying, "Oh, it's you again."

"You act like you're not happy to see me," I deadpanned at him.

He immediately got flustered and started to protest, "No, I didn't mean-"

"Cool it side bang, I was just having some fun with you," I said waving my hand.

"Don't worry Himuro, Atsushi's always welcome here," my cousin said as she patted Murasakibara's head, which he had bent down to offer it to her.

I gave them a weird look and returned to my food, at least until I felt a towering presence looming over me. I looked up to see Murasakibara looking down on me lazily, "Ne Shi-chin, that's my spot mmkay?"

I cocked my head, "Your spot?"

About two seconds later I felt his massive hands around my waist and felt myself being lifted. He set me down in the chair on the other side of the table and patted my head before sitting in the chair I was previously sitting in. "Your spot," I repeated.

He nodded and looked at my plate of food in front of him, poking at it curiously with his finger. I swiped it away from him saying, "I'm okay with you stealing my chair, but it's a different story with food."

He looked at me with a hurt expression, "I wasn't going to take it without asking Shi-chin."

I looked at him warily, I had been friends with Shougo too long to let my guard down. My aunt came up to us and set another plate down in front of Murasakibara, "Here you go sweetie."

"Thanks auntie Haizawa," Murasakibara said.

"Are you going to help out today?" my cousin asked.

Murasakibara nodded as he chewed a pastry he had put in his mouth, "Help out?" I asked.

"Atsushi's my number one customer, but sometimes he spends all his money here, so he works here in exchange for product," my cousin explained.

"I see," I said smiling as I imagined the huge teenager making tiny delicate chocolates.

"So I'll have two workers today," my cousin said.

Murasakibara looked at me, "Ehhh, Shi-chan bakes too?"

I rubbed the back of my head, "I can make the chocolate, but I'm not the best at baking."  
Murasakibara nodded, "I understand, I can make chocolate, but when I try and take them out of the mold, my hands break them."

Cue Murasakibara looking like a sad/angry puppy dog at his hands like they had just committed some atrocity. I laughed lightly, "Then I guess we balance each other out pretty well."

Murasakibara nodded at me and then got up and started walking towards the kitchen. It was only then that I realized he had consumed the entire plate of food my aunt had set in front of him in a mere matter of minutes. "Boy is a powerhouse," I muttered as I grabbed my plate and followed him, shoving food into my mouth as I did so because I wasn't used to people being able to eat more than me.

* * *

"Atsushi, Shira, Himuro, I'm just about ready to close the shop," My cousin said poking her head in the kitchen.

"Okay auntie," Murasakibara said and wiped his hand which was speckled with frosting on his forehead and only succeeded in getting frosting in his hair.

"Here," I laughed and picked the frosting out of his hair.

"Thank you Shi-chin," Murasakibara drawled.

"So Shira, how long are you going to be in Akita?" Himuro asked.

"Let's see, probably about four more days," I answered.

"What are you going to do?" Himuro asked.

I picked up a cupcake and bit into it, "I don't know, what is there really to do in Akita?"

Murasakibara stood up, "That's no good Shi-chin, you should have lots of fun."

"Easier said than done," I said with a full mouth.

Murasakibara smiled, "You'll see, Muro-chin and I will make sure you have fun."

Oh how I didn't take that threat seriously, but lo and behold they knocked on the door of my brother's house the next morning. Himuro said we were going to go see some of the places he went sightseeing when he first moved here. Day one was a an art museum, which after about five minutes Murasakibara turned to me and said, "This is boring," and we left to go get some food.

Day two was a park, which went well for a couple of hours. It was a nice day, and it was funny to see little children treat Murasakibara like a personal jungle gym. It was nice, up until the invasion of the crows. And by "invasion" I mean there were two somewhat in our vicinity. "I don't like them, they make weird sounds," Murasakibara said and then we left the park and went to get something to eat. I was starting to sense a pattern and I had little hope for my last day.

Day three was different, I knew it when I walked out of the house and I saw Murasakibara smiling widely. Himuro laughed nervously, "Today, Atsushi has decided where to go."

"Oh, and where are we going?" I asked.

Murasakibara kept smiling as he said, "We're going to the zoo."

The Omoriyama zoo was a nice mix of old and new exhibits, and I must say it was finally nice to do something that the purple giant wasn't complaining about. He enjoyed it too much in fact, he wandered off by himself a lot, leaving me alone with Himuro who I had to stay with to track Murasakibara down. When we finally found him for the last time, we came up with the genius idea that I would hold one handle of Murasakibara's plastic bag full of snacks while he held the other, because if Murasakibara held onto anything for dear life it was his snacks. I felt him tug on the bag, "Shi-chin, look at the giraffes."

I walked up the exhibit with him, "They're really tall," I observed.

Murasakibara smiled lazily, "It's nice to be around someone taller than me for a change."

I giggled, "I bet they're thinking that they want to crush you."

Murasakibara looked at me with wide eyes, "You think so, ne, Muro-chin, do you think so too?"

Himuro smiled and said, "I think they're gentle giants, they're probably not thinking that."

"I'm not a gentle giant," Murasakibara said as he struggled to open a bag of potato chips, gave up, and handed them to me.

"I know, you're a lazy giant," I said as I opened the bag and handed it back to him.

He popped a chip into his mouth saying, "This is why I like your family Shi-chin."

I was about to say something in response, but was cut short when a giraffe came up to us and straight up licked Murasakibara on the head. I was quiet for a second before bursting into laughter, but Himuro seemed more adapted to Murasakibara's strange ways, so when he moved towards the giraffe Himuro instantly said sternly, "Atsushi no."

Murasakibara looked at Himuro, "But why Muro-chin? It's rude not to return the favor."

Himuro took Murasakibara's free hand and dragged both of us away saying, "Well, your politeness is going to get us kicked out of the zoo."

"Ooo, face painting," Murasakibara said, breaking away from both of us.

Both Himuro and I watched as Murasakibara went over to the "children's" activity and scared the living daylights out of the poor painter. Himuro chuckled, "He really is a kid."

I smiled, "Yeah, he is."

"I don't mean to be frank Shira, but I have this feeling that you don't like me," Himuro said suddenly.

"You're right," I said, "And one thing you might want to do to fix that is to stop smiling when you're talking about someone not liking you. It's unnatural."

He gave me a serious look and I sighed, "Look, my first impression of you was that you were feuding with my redheaded hottie over something completely stupid, and while some people may call me a hypocrite because I'm in the same boat right now (not that I give a damn) it gives me the impression that you are someone who needs to get the hell over themselves."

"Taiga and I made up," was Himuro's response.

"Okay, from now on I'll trust my red hot hottie's and that precious child over there's judgment and we're cool, but don't think I don't still have my eye on you," I said.

"What are you guys talking about?" A voice asked as it approached us.

"Aw," I said as Murasakibara approached us with a cat face painted on him, "You look adorable."

"That was fun," Murasakibara said with a satisfied face.  
"I'm sure it was, but we better get going soon, it's getting late," Himuro said.

"Ah? Okay then," Murasakibara whined.

After the day ended, I didn't expect to see them the next morning when I was about to leave to catch my train back to Kanagawa, but I did. I smiled, "What are you guys doing here?" I asked them.

Murasakibara was eating something as usual and said with a full mouth, "We stopped by the shrine this morning to get you these."

He then proceeded to thrust something towards me, "They're good luck charms, for your upcoming transition to college," Himuro explained.

I took the charms from Murasakibara's hand and put them in my bag, "Thanks guys, it means a lot to me."

"We also came to invite you to Tokyo today, we're heading out there to visit Taiga and since you're headed in that direction, we thought you might like to come along," Himuro said.

"Yeah sure, that sounds like a lot of fun, and it's nice to not be alone on a train for so long," I said, secretly thankful for this invite because it delayed my return to Kanagawa for at least one day.

Murasakibara and Himuro were pretty good train riding company, especially because Murasakibara was basically one giant pillow, although I did have to hide all of the sweets my cousin sent back with me so he didn't eat them all.

Many hours later we arrived in Tokyo, and made our way to a nearby park, which I recognized was close to Kagami's apartment. When we approached the basketball court, there was Kagami and Aomine playing one on one against each other, with Momoi sitting on a bench watching them.

I gripped the bag of sweets in my hand, and thanked the universe for giving me this golden opportunity. Again. Taking something out of the bag and handing my stuff to Himuro saying, "Hold this for a sec," I quietly crept onto the court.

I had just made it behind Aomine when Kagami gave me a weird look and I tried to shush him by putting my index finger to my lip, but he didn't get the message because he stopped playing and was giving me an even weirder look. I heard Aomine say, "What's up with you?"

I saw him start to turn towards me where Kagami was looking and that was when I took my chance. I took the cupcake I was holding and slammed it in Aomine's face as he turned saying, "Sweeten up, cinnamon stick."

Kagami, Momoi, Himuro, and I immediately cracked up at the cupcake riddled Aomine. I heard Murasakibara mumbled from the sideline, "Shi-chin, that's a waste of food," which made me crack up even more.

I was too busy laughing that I didn't notice Aomine coming until it was too late. He scooped me up saying, "Come 'ere Shira, gimme a kiss," and then proceeded to rub his face again mine.

Twenty minutes and a water bath for mine and Aomine's faces later, we all congregated on the basketball court once again. Once I had possession of my bag again, I took out the book Aomine had lent me and handed it to him, "Here, before I forget to give it to you."

"Thanks, did you like it?" Aomine said.

"Yeah, it was great," I said.

"I have the next volume, I can lend it to you when I see you again. You're moving out here in a couple of days right?" Aomine said.

"Yep," I said.

"So," Kagami interjected, "I don't mean to bring up a touchy subject, but has Kise...um..um-"

"Stopped being such a dick," Aomine finished for him.

I let out a small laugh as Momoi scolded him and said, "Unfortunately no, I don't think we're heading towards reconciliation."

Murasakibara blinked at me, "Ne, you and Kise-chin are fighting?" he asked.

"More of a silent war, but yes," I said.

He rummaged through his plastic bag and handed me two lollipops, "Give one to Kise-chin and the other is for you, eat them together and everything will be all better."

I smiled sympathetically at the cute giant in front of me and said, "If only everyone was able to solve problems like you Atsushi."

He nodded in approval at my statement, "Hey Atsushi?" I asked.

"What?" he said.

"I just noticed that your nicknames for everyone else have two syllables, why does mine only have one?" I asked.

"That's because Shi-chin's too short for two," he replied matter of factly.

"You're lucky you're so cute or I swear I'd hit you upside the face right now."

* * *

Hi there, I wanted to thank everyone who favorite/follows/reads this because it means a lot to me and of course there is a special place in anime heaven for people

who review, so, to xx-BritCullen-xx, I'm so glad you love my story and that you like Shira's character, I designed her specifically to make fun of Kise for fourty

chapters. To Human Marshmallow, "Why is it basketball?" It's almost like she's in a sports anime lol. Anywho, I'm super happy you're growing fond of Shira's bro

because I made him a weird mix of, sweet caring tsundere/guy who's done with everything and everyone in the world and I wasn't sure how people would respond

to him. amy1945, yeah, Shira would definitely opt to dip out on all the drama that would probably ensue at the graduation ceremony, and I'm glad you got the humor

in her brother's introduction (the reason why a basketball coach would invite a Physics teacher randomly to a city 8 hours away is clearer now I hope). And to

Amethyst, I'm sorry about the short chapter and leaving you hanging last time, but last chapter was really more of a set up for this chapter and the next, so I hope

this one sorta makes up for it.


	28. Chapter 28

The day that I moved to Tokyo, it only took me an hour or so to pack up my things from the house. My parents had made arrangements with one of those moving companies that literally pack up and place everything for you, but I insisted on packing my personal affects myself. It was mostly because I wasn't comfortable with some random stranger touching my underwear, but a small part of me needed to physically pack a box to feel like this was real. That I was actually going to a good college and living by myself. In Tokyo. Without Kise.

I felt sorry for myself as I let the blonde enter my mind, it was ridiculous that a time that was supposed to be happy was marred by something as trivial as a high school crush. And of course after I thought that I had to laugh bitterly because I knew Kise wasn't just a crush, he was my friend, and the first person I had ever fallen in love with.

I sighed as I brought the couple of light boxes down the stairs and handed them to the movers, who put them in the truck. I kept serenading myself with sighs as I took one last walk around the house, before walking out and locking the door behind me. I sighed as I listened to the silence of the empty house, and almost felt a little guilty because it would now be vacant most of the time. I continued my symphony and sighed as I watched the moving truck drive away, and checked my phone one last time before heading to the train station because I had this sickening feeling that once I left Kanagawa it would be done forever. There would be no chance encounter with blondie around town, no chance for me to apologize, no chance for him to forgive me. I looked at my phone which read "no new messages" and gave one last sigh.

As I turned around to walk to the station, I was so surprised that I almost let the hot tears behind my eyes go free. The odd group of friends I had managed to acquire this past year stood in front of me, which included Rima, Sakura, and the starters of the basketball team, all except Kise. I had scanned the group for his face the moment I saw them, and when he was nowhere to be found I hid my disappointment behind a smirk saying, "You guys just can't get enough of me huh?"  
Sakura ran to me and hugged my sides, "Senpai, you didn't think we'd let you leave without saying goodbye, do you?"

I chuckled, "Let me? Am I sensing a bit of a yandere side coming out in you Sakura?"  
Sakura looked up at me and shot back, "You know I've always been possessive of you senpai, plus, it's goodbye for all these other people, but I'll be seeing you in Tokyo next year."

"Sure thing kid," I said, ruffling her head.

Sakura pouted, "Senpai, as your fan club president it's my duty."

"Sakura...stop hogging her," I heard Rima say before I felt Sakura's clinging form being pulled away from me.

She was immediately replaced with Rima hugging me, "Hey now sweet loli, don't be sad," I said hugging her back.

She nuzzled into my chest, "I'm going to miss you Shira, I don't know if I'll ever meet anyone with the amount of sarcasm in your soul."

I smiled, "Ah, I'm glad my wit has left some sort of imprint on you."

Then came the goodbyes from the basketball team, Nakamura was stoic and calm, Moriyama was still creeped out by me I'm sure, Kobori was comforting, and to no one's surprise Hayakawa started crying and spouting a very passionate speech that nobody understood.

Sakura sniffed, "I guess we better let you go or you'll be late for your train."

I nodded, "I think it's about that time."

Sakura gave me one last hug before the group departed from my street, well, all except one. The one that had kept a stern silence this entire time, "Hey Yuki," I said.

He looked at me with a slight scowl on his face before he walked over to me and pulled me into a tight hug, "Hey Shira."

I wrapped my arms around his waist, "Aww Yuki, you're getting me all choked up."

He squeezed me so tight I thought my ribs were going to break and said, "I tried to get Kise to come, but he's still being so childish."

My face fell a little bit and I rested my head on Kasamatsu's shoulder, "I wasn't expecting him to come around, so it's okay."

Kasamatsu let me go and studied my face, "You love him don't you?"

I felt a few tears run down my face as he said it, and I smiled as I rubbed the back of my head and said lightheartedly, "You caught me."

Kasamatsu wiped away my tears and said in a serious tone, "He's no good to you the way he is now Shira, you're too mature for him right now."

"I know, but his immaturity is something I like about him," I said quietly.

"I get it, but to an extent," Kasamatsu growled, "It's one thing when he runs around like a giant puppy, but it's not okay and there's no excuse to be so juvenile that you hurt the people around you."

"But Yuki, the scary part is I don't think it's Kise's happy go lucky side that decided to cut me off," I said ominously.

"Either way, I really don't like this side of Kise," Kasamatsu said tapping his foot, "It pisses me off and all I want to do is kick him to the ground."

I chuckled, "There isn't anything anyone can do about it though Yuki."

Kasamatsu sighed, "You know, someone once told me that Kise's only affable to those he feels are worthy, and for the rest he's cold hearted. While that may be true, to throw away someone that he said was such an important part of his life this easily, is something he's going to regret one day. Whether it's a week from now or years later, he's gonna grow up and realize what a mistake he made with you."

I nudged him in the shoulder, "You know, you can be quite comforting when you need to be Yuki."

"I wish I didn't have to be," he growled.

"Hey Yuki? You have to promise me something okay? Promise me that you'll still be his senpai even though you're graduated, and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid okay?" I said, inwardly cursing myself for the amount my voice cracked as I said it.

"Of course," Kasamatsu replied.

"Oh and another thing," I said, digging around in my pocket, "Don't say it's from me, but give this to him," I said as I handed Kasamatsu a lollipop.

"I have to be able to tell a certain purple haired child that I tried," I said to his look of questioning.

"I have to go, bye Yuki," I said, giving him a final hug and walking in the direction of the train station.

My train ride went by all too fast, as did the walk to my apartment, where every bit of generic furniture my parents had picked out for me was placed in position; my lone couple of boxes of clothes and odd bits and ends sat by the entryway. The apartment in itself was nice, it was on the fifth floor but the building had an elevator. It was a two bedroom, my father knew that Shougo would be a frequent visitor and had insisted that I have a guest room for him to stay in because as he stated, "I'm not about to support any close relations between you and that hooligan". My mother had laughed at him when he said that, and exchanged a look that told me how much of a hypocrite my dad was being because she had been ten times worse than Shougo would ever be.

I unpacked my clothes and other belongings to feel like I had accomplished something and sat on my couch for a bit, finding the silence deafening even though it was something I was used to. After an hour, I grabbed my jacket and headed out of my apartment and towards someone else's. I was greeted with a friendly face when the door I knocked on swung open, "Hey there college girl."

I smiled, "Hey there Haizaki-nii."

I entered his apartment and gave him a big hug, "It's really nice to see you," he said, returning the hug.

I pressed my face into his chest and said, "You have no idea how good it is to see you."

He chuckled, "What's up, feeling homesick already? It hasn't even been a day right?"

I groaned, "It's not that."

"I'll order a pizza and a whole bunch of other unhealthy foods and then you can tell me all about it," Haizaki-nii said.

An hour and four slices of pizza later, I was sitting on the couch with Haizaki-nii looking at me expectantly, "So there's this guy…" I started.

Haizaki-nii grinned, "You? And boy trouble?"

"Did you want to hear about this or not?" I asked.

He laughed, "Of course, don't get feisty with me," he said, ruffling my hair.

"So there's this guy," I started again, "And I started out hating him because of your dear younger brother, but then he started to grow on me and we became friends, and then he said that he loved me but I didn't take him seriously for a good six months, and when I finally recognized that I like him back, the issue with him and Shougo kind of imploded and he stopped talking to me."  
Haizaki-nii let out a long breath, "That's rough."

I looked at him, "You think so? I mean, so I'm not crazy for feeling the way I do right now?"

"Depends. How do you feel right now?" he asked me.

I thought for a minute, "Sad, jilted, betrayed, sad again, angry, sad. Mostly sad."

I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder and heard Haizaki-nii say, "It's going to be alright, you'll forget about him soon enough."  
"Hopefully," I laughed.

"You should find someone new, you know? Start dating again to take your mind off this guy," he said.

"Nah, I'm done with relationships for now," I replied quickly.

"Shi, that's not a healthy way to go about things," Haizaki-nii scolded me.

"What do you mean? There's nothing wrong with taking some time for myself," I said defensively.

"There are a lot of good guys out there," Haizaki-nii said.

I snorted, "Yeah, where?"

Not ten seconds after I had finished that sentence, I found myself lying on my back on the couch, with Haizaki-nii lightly pinning me down and hovering over me, "They're not that hard to find Shira, as long as you look around you."

Any other time I would've laughed at him, if he didn't say it in that low tone, or look at me with those narrowed eyes. I laughed nervously, "What are you trying to get at Haizaki-nii?"

He narrowed his eyes even further and seethed, "Nii, you know how much I hate that suffix Shi?"

He leaned down until our noses almost touched, "You know Shi, lately I haven't been feeling too brotherly towards you, in fact, I never really did."

"What are you saying?" I asked in almost a whisper.

"I want you Shira, I want you to be mine again," he said in my ear and then began to lightly kiss my jaw.

To say I was shocked would be an extreme understatement. I thought this matter was settled six years ago, he had given me no clue about his feelings. A million questions raced through my mind; had he always felt this way? Why didn't he ever say anything? Was his whole friendship a lie? The thought made me want to throw up, and my erratic heartbeat and panicked breathing was not helping things.

And despite all this, I could've forgiven him. I like to think myself a pretty understanding girl, and currently on the other end of an unrequited love situation myself I could comprehend Haizaki-nii having a moment of weakness. I could've forgiven him if he hadn't taken my stunned inactivity for consent to shove his tongue in my mouth while one of his hands snaked under my shirt and the other made a move to try and unbutton my pants. My body cringed at the unwanted touch, and I immediately threw him off of me and slapped him so hard I could see the imprint of my hand on his cheek.

He looked at me, with a mix of love, lust, hatred and hurt, "Why?" was all he said.

"Because I don't love you," I answered.

"You won't even try," he growled at me.

I snapped and yelled, "WHY SHOULD I? HUH?"

I clenched my fists, "I trusted you, I thought of you like a brother and this is how you treat me. You wait until I'm heartbroken and vulnerable, and then you pounce on me like I'm some sort of piece of meat?! You are the most disingenuous piece of crap I've ever had the misfortune of knowing!"

I stormed out angrily as he attempted to follow me, but I slammed the door in his face and ran as fast as I could in no particular direction. Even though I couldn't run for a long time because I wasn't in shape and in heels, I ran long enough to get me lost and wandering around a part of Tokyo I wasn't familiar with.

After a while, I came upon a small park and decided to stop there because I was tired. I sat down on one of the swings and began to slowly rock back in forth. The movement was slightly soothing, but it didn't stop me from digging my heel in dirt in an attempt to keep my eyes from getting any blurrier than they already were. I don't know how long I must've been sitting there, but my phone told me it was close to two in the morning and it was around that time that I heard a voice call out to me in the otherwise quiet park, "Shira."

I turned my head and almost burst into tears at the approaching figure. I stood up from the swing and hugged the person who had just walked up to me. I don't know how or why the basketball player was there, but he didn't know how happy I was to see him.

* * *

It seemed like ages before we got to his house and he practically had to carry me up to his room. I was ushered into a bed, and had a very warm and large comforter thrown on top of me. I looked around at the room with familiar calming blue walls and a surprising element of cleanliness. "So," a deep voice asked me, "You want to tell me what you were doing out there."

I sat up on the bed, "The world is a fucked up place with screwed up people in it."

"That doesn't answer anything," the voice probed.

I sighed, "I trusted a guy and he turned out to be a prick."

"And no, it doesn't have anything to do with that," I added.

"Are you okay?" the voice asked.

It was a simple question, I don't know why I started crying and babbling endlessly, "No, I am not okay. I am not okay because people are not who they say they are and they turn into these horrible monsters who don't call you back and try to screw you on a couch, and someone needs to run me over with a truck if this is the way things are because I'm tired of running away and ending up in a park in Tokyo at two in the morning without a jacket and not being able to even be mad about the couch thing, BECAUSE I SHOULD BE, but I'm too busy being sad over that little blonde idiot to be angry at that other insignificant worm!"  
At that point the guy had extended his arms out to me, and I welcomed his arms around me as I continued sobbing, "I'm so angry right now! I'm pissed that he won't talk to me, or give me a chance to explain myself. I'm seething over the fact that he said he loved me and then makes me fall in love with his dumb ass, and then just abandons me. I'm mad because I desperately wanted to call him when I was sitting on that swing, I wanted him to comfort me, to tell me everything was going to be okay, but I couldn't call him because I know it'd go straight to voicemail and I couldn't handle that tonight."

I stopped crying and said weakly into the boy's chest, "I wasn't like this before, he made me this way. You know, I figured out why you fall in love, it's because you fall into this huge pit and I can't claw my way out and then it starts filling up with water and it feels like you can't breathe.."

"You need to calm down," a husky voice said into my ear before pushing me onto the bed again and pulling the comforter over me.

I calmed down as I took in my surroundings again. The room reminded me of Kise's, and I had a hunch that Kise modeled his room after this given how much he idolized it's inhabitant. The blue walls were not calming in the same sense that Kise's light blue walls were. Colored a deep navy blue, the darkness they emitted made me want to fall asleep right then and there. This room was defined by a stack of magazines, a few basketballs, a huge shoe collection, and a musky aroma of sweat and too much aftershave that was unique to the person sitting in front of me. I covered my face, "I'm sorry, I'm a mess."

"It's okay, I understand," the voice said back.

I smiled softly, "So what were you doing in the park at two in the morning?"  
"I couldn't sleep, so I went to go shoot some hoops," the voice answered.

I laughed, "You really are a basketball idiot."

He chuckled, "I guess so, anyway, both my parents are working the night shift so you can stay here tonight."

He made a move to leave the room, but I caught him by the shirt. He seemed to understand and wordlessly crawled into bed with me and wrapped his arms around my frame; his hands didn't wander and I felt safe. I waited till both of our breathing became slow and steady before I asked, "Aomine?"

"Yeah?" he answered gruffly.

"Can we not mention this night to anyone?" I asked.

"Sure," he replied.

I held out my hand, "Pinky swear?"

He grasped his pinky in mine and snorted, "Pinky swear? What are you, five?"

I smiled, "Didn't anyone ever tell you pinky swears are sacred?"

* * *

Hey there! I want to thank everyone who reads/follows/favorites this story and especially the people who leave reviews. To Akashicchi-ssu, I vote Murasakibara

for president of the world because I agree with your suggestion that he would solve so many issues with the lollipop trade system. To Elitehope21, I'm so happy that

you love the story and the drama between Shira and Kise. To Amethyst, I'm glad you liked the last chapter; Atsushi's probably my favorite character in knb so I

love writing him. To amy1945, I'm happy you liked the cast of characters last chapter cause I felt like switching it up a bit, and Kise will be MIA until the chapter

after next, so be strong, he will eventually reappear.


	29. Chapter 29

"_Pinky swear? What are you five?"_

"_Didn't anyone ever tell you pinky swears are sacred?"_

I woke up with a start and sat upright, I ran a hand through my hair and tried to combat the grogginess in my eyes. It wasn't long after that I felt an arm snake it's way around my waist and a sleepy voice ask, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I was just having a very vivid dream," I replied.

"Nightmare?" the voiced questioned.

"No, it was a memory I guess," I said.

"A memory?"

"Yeah, I dreamt of a night that happened two years ago," I said.

"That's weird, wanna talk about it?"

I frowned slightly, "No."

"You sure?"

I smiled, "Sorry hon, but the events of that night are forever sealed between another person and I by two pinky fingers."

I received a smile for that one, "You're weird, but you're even weirder in the mornings," the person lying next to me said as he buried his head underneath a pillow.

"Well this weirdo needs to get ready for work," I said, getting up.

I walked over to my closet and as I grabbed a shirt and a pair of skinny jeans, I glanced at myself in a mirror. Shirahime Haizawa, now twenty years old, was less of a delinquent, but still looked just as mean in my opinion. Her eyes were hollowed and narrowed from a constant lack of sleep, her mouth turned down into a permanent scowl, and she almost always had her now longer but still as messy hair tied in a loose bun. As of four months ago, she's able to legally purchase alcohol and cigarettes, as if she hadn't done it illegally the previous years when she developed into quite the chainsmoker due to the stress she was under.

I looked away from the mirror and changed my clothes quickly, I was never one to fuss over my appearance and thinking in the third person is creepy. I grabbed my bag and walked into the kitchen to scour my fridge for something substantial to eat. As I looked, a hand draped itself on the refrigerator and a voice asked, "Did you want me to make you something?"

"No, I'm already late," I said, grabbing a leftover sandwich and stuffing it in my mouth.

"You need to take better care of yourself," the voice commented.

"Give me a couple more years and then I'll start," I responded.

A pair of arms wrapped around me, "Why are you in such a rush today? I thought you pretty much set your own hours."

"Usually, but it's the first week of school, my boss gets agitated with all of the freshman running around like chickens with their heads cut off," I said, nuzzling my face into an arm.

"So? You hate your boss anyway, I bet not showing up at all will piss him off, so stay here with me. Maybe we can go out to eat somewhere." the voice suggested.

I laughed, "I'd love to, but I really need to be there today and I don't want to leave Junichi hanging."

There was a pause filled with silence before I heard a voice mumble in my ear, "Are we on or off right now?"

I sighed, "Ask me again when this week is over."

"Sure thing," the voice said.

I smiled, "Now I really do have to go."

"Mmkay," the voice said, but didn't let me go.

I laughed and tore away from his hold and opened my front door, "Zawa."

I looked behind me at the man standing in my kitchen; his hair had fallen to the side of his face over the course of the night and he had only bothered to put on a pair of pants when he got out of bed, but I knew within the hour his jet black hair would be slicked back and his now bare chest would be adorned with a horrendously tacky button down shirt, "Yeah?" I said.

His purple eyes narrowed as he smirked, "See ya later."

"See ya Zami," I said before I walked out the door and made my way to Tokyo University.

Takeda Haizami and I had encountered each other shortly after I had moved to Tokyo. We were both surprised to find out the other had ended up in the same city, albeit for different reasons; Takeda was here to try and establish his gang in the city where criminal connections came around more easily than they did in small towns. It had started with a tentative truce and ended up in a relationship that both our families profusely disapproved of and we loved it. We had only made it six months when our similar personalities got the best of us and we parted ways, only to start a long, complicated, dance that lasted this past year and a half where we were together periodically, never longer than a month or two.

I walked down the street in the cold April morning air in a hurry to get to the university before the onslaught of freshman did. As I walked on campus I was relieved to see a normal amount of students for this hour, with the exception of the few students who were obviously new due to the amount of pacing, confused look, and overall aura of anxiousness that surrounded them.

I made my way to the back of campus where they had placed the history department in the stuffiest corner possible; they probably did it to hide the stuffy preppy professors with bad attitudes and the professors who were anti government and half of what they taught were conspiracy theories, both of which congregated in the subject of history. I would have preferred any stiff upper lip or crazed conspiracy theorist over the professor I was forced to spend most of my time with.

I yawned as I opened a door that I had wandered across my first week of college. Back then it had a paper taped to it that said "Research assistants wanted". Not knowing many people in Tokyo, I thought a part time job would be a great thing to fill my time. Oh, how I wished I had applied at Maji Burger instead.

Upon opening the door, I went into an office that was neither small or large, was piled ceiling high with books, and within it's confines sat two men; one my saint, the other my tormenter. "Good morning Ichi," I said to a boy furiously typing away on his computer.

I passed the other guy, who was lying down on a desk and fanning himself with a paper, without a word. As I sat down at my desk, I cringed slightly as the man on the desk let out a predictable whine, "Shishi, why didn't you you greet meeeeee?"

I flipped through a stack of papers that I had on my desk and said, "Because I hate you, and stop calling me that."

"But whhhyyyy? It's so cute," he whined and then stuck his butt in the air and started to wiggle it, "Shishi shake, Shishi shake."

Junichi (aka Ichi) looked up and asked, "Please stop doing that sensei."

Junichi was a very big and burly guy, who people probably thought was mean and hardcore until they actually got to know him and realized he was a baby hedgehog with a heart of gold and an inhuman calming voice. A voice that saved me many a time from snapping our "sensei's" neck. "Shishi, Junjun's so mean, you know what he wants me to do? He wants me to actually show up to class today," our sensei said.

"You should at least go to introduce yourself to them," Junichi said sternly.

"But I hate new students, they're soooo annoying," sensei whined.

"Don't encourage him Ichi, him going today will just give them the false reality that he cares about them or is actually going to be the one teaching them," I said.

"See? Shishi understands, I only like my advanced students," he said.

Junichi sighed, "That means more of a workload for us."

"Maybe we'll get some sorry soul to apply for a job in the department," I said.

"But my funding only allows enough for two research assistants," I heard from the other side of the room.

I rolled my eyes, "But the personal assistant position is open because Komamura graduated last year."  
"Oh that's right, I barely noticed she was gone," he said in response.

"That's because I've been doing everything for your sorry ass," I growled.

He got up and patted my head saying, "And you're very much appreciated Shishi."

"I'm going out for some breakfast, you guys wanna come?" he asked.

"No thank you, we're going to be too busy teaching your classes," I sneered.

"Okay, bye bye," he said before walking out.

Junichi stopped typing and looked up at me, "You know, this is going to be my fourth year working for him and I just realized something."

"What?" I asked.

"Is us teaching his classes even legal?" he asked.

"Neither one of us has any form of a teaching credential, so that would be a no," I said.

"It's too late to do anything now," he said.

"Mhmm," I agreed.

"You think we're gonna find anybody who'll put up with sensei's...eccentricities," Junichi asked.

I laughed, "That's a nice word for it."

"But to answer your question, yes, I have the perfect recruit," I said with a dark smile.

Junichi laughed, "They're going to have to be to put up with Seito sensei."

I turned to my stack of papers I had to grade and said, "Trust me, they will be."

If the name Seito sounds familiar, I would like to bring you back to a certain train ride with a man who had the same name and a mysterious knowledge of history. That mystery was soon cleared up when I stepped into my first history class and saw him sitting on the desk; he unfortunately remembered me and I instantly became his favorite student. Note: He did not become my favorite teacher.

When I had made my way to the door that requested research assistants, I did so because someone told me that a Mr. Takeuchi was the one looking for them. I figured it was Takeuchi sensei's nephew, who was a young professor at the university and had been one of the connections that got me into Tokyo U. And it was, I was just surprised when I walked in the door and saw the teacher that everyone referred to by his first name; Seito Takeuchi. When I saw it was him, I immediately tried to walk out, but was stopped by Seito who excitedly said how happy he was "his favorite student came" and, "how he knew we were going to be great friends when he met me on the train" and, "I knew there was something special about you when Uncle talked so highly about you" and, "how he was overjoyed I liked him as much as he liked me" and so on and so on.

The thing that I learned quickly when I started working for him was that he was an annoying teacher, but an even more annoying boss. He was lazy and only cared about his advanced classes; where he could "teach" in the way he wanted to, which was assigning a reading and then discussing it and whatever he felt like for four hours. I guess his passion for history could be considered endearing to some, but those "some" are definitely not the people who've had to work for him. Even though I was a research assistant, I also taught the classes he didn't want to teach with Junichi and now that there was no personal assistant, I had been forced to be at Seito's beck and call the past couple of months.

It was a horrible job that caused constant stress and exhaustion, so any rational person would ask the question, "Why do you stay?"

The answer is this; while this job restricted my time, my personal freedom was left untouched. I could curse, do whatever I wanted, and any violence didn't affect the status of my job. Seito sensei was too lazy to even care about half his classes, let alone my behavior. It was a big price to pay, but I don't think I could function anywhere else.

"We should probably get going, the first class is about to start," Junichi stated.

"Let's be late and show them what we're really all about," I said smiling.

Junichi laughed, "Come on."

* * *

When we got to the classroom, it was right at the time that the class should start and most of the students were already crowded around the door. We had to fight our way through the crowd, mostly because everybody assumed we were just students, which we are, but we're also going to be their teachers for the duration of their stay. Thankfully, Junichi's size was enough for students to part for us as we got to and unlocked the door.

As soon as the door was open, students flooded the lecture hall and found their seats, leaving Junichi and I standing up at the front, "Good morning everyone," Junichi said cheerfully.

The students gave mumbled hellos in response, obviously confused by our presence, "As you many notice, Takeuchi sensei is not with us, I'm Junichi and this is Shira, we'll be your instructors."

"What happened to Takeuchi sensei? Why isn't he here?" a student blurted out.

"He was viciously murdered by one of his research assistants," I deadpanned.

Junichi laughed nervously, "Shira's just kidding, the reason he's not here is he has a busy workload and can't handle all of his classes."

"Lying to the children now?" I said quietly to Junichi.

He leaned in close to me, "It's better than them knowing the real reason he's not here is because he doesn't care enough about them."

"I feel like we're the mother of a couple of kids who has a husband that's gone from home a lot," I said.

"Shira," Junichi said.

"Bill! Seymour! How can you say such a thing? It's not that daddy doesn't like you, you know he has to be gone for his work," I continued.

"Please Shira," Junichi said.

"Okay Ichi, let's get this show on the road," I said.

The class was fairly easy to teach, we had done it the year before and it was the same lectures about the same things; the kids weren't really missing much by Seito not being there. Junichi and I made a good team, he was obsessed with social issues and the cultural side of history while I was into wars, any form of violence, and government.

It was only after the class ended and the last few students were leaving when Seito made his appearance. At least he came with coffee.

"Hi my Shishi and Junjun! How was the first class of the year?" he said happily.

"Good," Junichi replied.

"Uneventful," I said.

I sipped the coffee he had handed me, "So, what are you doing here?"

Seito smiled, "My honors course starts right now."

"Shoulda known," I said.

"I'm so excited! I wonder which student I'll have my first encounter with? Two years ago it was yoouuu," Seito said.

A sip of coffee. A menacing glare sent his way. Another sip of coffee. "Yo," we all heard as a student approached us.

Seito's head whirled around, "Hello! Are you here for my class?"

"Are you Seito Takeuchi?" he asked.

"Yep!" Seito said excitedly.

"Then yeah," the voice said sleepily.

I smiled, "Daiki, you're up early."

Aomine looked at me lazily, "Satsuki made me."

"Did she follow you to college too?" I asked.

"Yeah, her and Tetsu are quite the puppy dogs this year," he said.

"Kuroko?" I asked.

"He followed Kagami here," Aomine said.

"Are you worried you're being replaced?" I teased.

"Tch, whatever," he said.

"It's not surprising, the sports programs here are arguably the best in the country," I said, "I assume you're all here for basketball."  
"Kuroko's not," Aomine said.

"Well, it's super competitive here, even with his misdirection I doubt he'd actually see any play time," I said.

"Exactly why he's a puppy dog," Aomine said.

I smiled, "Excuse you, Kuroko has and always will be a sweet panda."

Seito looked back and forth at the two of us, "Do you two know each other?"

"No, we just met and decided to start talking about random people," I said sarcastically.

Seito tried to glare at me, but the last student coming out of the room blocked him and bowed at me saying, "Have a nice day Shira sensei!"  
"Yeah, you too," I said, waving him off.

Aomine smirked, "Sensei? What is that, some sort of fetish?"

I smirked back, "You know it butterscotch."

Aomine was quiet for moment, "I thought you should know...Kise's here."

I stiffened and he added, "I just found out yesterday, you know I'd tell you."

"I know," I said.

"You gonna be okay?" he asked.

I smiled softly, "It was a long time ago, I'll be fine, plus, it's a pretty large campus Daiki."

"Heyyyy Daidai, class is about to start," Seito said.

"Daidai?" Aomine questioned as Seito pulled on his arm.

I laughed and waved as they went inside the lecture hall, "Good luck."

"Who's Kise?" Junichi asked beside me.

I jumped at his voice, I had forgotten he was next to me, "No one," I said.

He looked at me doubtfully, "Come on, we've got work to do. As usual," I said, walking back to the office.

I could tell Junichi wasn't buying my whole, "Kise's nobody" thing because he kept shooting looks at me, especially when I left a couple hours later and headed back towards the lecture hall. I stood outside as the students poured out and leaned against the wall as I waited for Aomine. When he came out and saw me he smirked, "Waiting for me outside of class, I'm touched."

I punched his shoulder lightly and said, "You should be, your senpai really pulled through for you."

"Mmmm, and how's that?" Aomine asked.

"I assume that you've simply moved from broke ass high school student to broke ass college student?" I said.

Aomine clucked his tongue, "Maybe."

I smiled, "Well, you're senpai's found a pretty well paying job at the University, you interested?"

Aomine looked at me, "You know it."

* * *

Hello! I want to thank the lovely souls who read/favorite/follow this and especially the saints that leave reviews. To Human Marshmallow, yes, RIP to the notion

Shogo's older bro was the goodie goodie he was portrayed as, but Haizaki did have a reason to think he's a douchebag right? I low key ship Aomine and Shira

so be expecting more fluff between the two that will never amount to anything :). To Amethyst, if you had a hard time with the last chapter, I hope you're okay

after reading this one. I hate Kise too at this point in the fic, and I'm rereading it and going, "Why are you being like this?" and then I remember I wrote him to

be like this because I love to torture him and literally wrote a 40 chapter fanfic with an OC that's designed to make fun of him constantly. And I like that you

found the scene between Aomine and Shira cute, they're my brotp, and Aomine seriously needs to win some type of award for being the best guy friend ever. To

amy1945, you won't be waiting long cause Kise makes his appearance next chapter, and I can totally understand how you feel about Haizaki-nii, I don't hate him

either, and I wrote him as the type of character that would stop if Shira told him to, it's just Shira's version of "stop" was slapping him in the face. Unfortunately,

Shira's never going to trust him again, so he might only make one brief appearance in the rest of the fic and it probably won't be a positive one.


	30. Chapter 30

"This job is shit," Aomine said angrily.

I laughed, "It's not that bad."

Aomine glared at me, "I hate your boss."

"_Our_ boss," I corrected him.

"Tch, whatever, he gets on my nerves," Aomine said.

"Well, you're his bitch right now," I chuckled.

"I'm his personal assistant," Aomine said.

I smiled, "I see no difference in those two job descriptions."

Aomine frowned, "Why can't he just be a regular boss?"

"To be fair, you're not a very orthodox personal assistant," I said.

Aomine smirked, "Oh, and how's that?"  
I smirked back, "Well, you could start being a better one by wearing a pencil skirt and putting some effort into your appearance babe."

He smiled, "Any other advice?"

I stood up, walked over to the copier, bent down lower than was necessary, and said dramatically, "Try talking in a more seductive tone like this, and make sure to give Seito sensei plenty of opportunities to feel you up throughout the day."

Aomine laughed as I sat back down, "I'll do that, even though it's just of matter of time whether I give him an opportunity or not, I have a pretty irresistible ass if I do say so myself."

I chuckled, "Oh, do you now? Sorry sweetheart, but there are many whose asses are far superior to yours."

"And who would that be? Name one," Aomine challenged me.

"Kise," I said on instinct.

Aomine looked at me apathetically, "What? Don't judge me, I figured this out a long time ago," I said defensively.

"Figured what out?" Aomine asked.

I put my finger on my chin, "Let's see...Murasakibara has the best abs, Midorima the best back, Akashi's muscles are menacing and Kuroko's have a great personality, and Kagami-"

"Kagami isn't part of the generation of miracles, just sayin…" Aomine said passive aggressively.

I sighed loudly, "You know, Kise said the same exact thing when I told him, and let me just tell you a thing; Kagami is a sweet American child who earned his spot among you okay?"

"I get it, I get it," Aomine said smiling.

"As I was saying," I continued, "Kagami has the best legs, and you have the best arms."

Aomine smirked, "I have the best arms?"

"You do," I said grabbing his arms, "They're so hard...like two pet rocks attached to an asshole."

Aomine smiled and pinched my cheek harshly, "Oi, say that again."

"It would be a good thing to maybe get back to work," a voice spoke across the office.

I looked over at the honey brown head of Junichi, "Sorry Ichi."

He shook his head, "It's okay, I'm just stressed; Seito wants these research materials by tomorrow."

"Ugh, I hate that guy," Aomine muttered.

"Don't worry Ichi, I'll help you out tonight," I said as I lit a cigarette.

"DAIDAI!" a voice echoed down the hall.

"Someone kill me," Aomine muttered.

I laughed, "That nickname though, and I thought mine was bad, it literally sounds like he's telling you to die."

Aomine snorted and I continued, "It's like something you hear coming from a possessed doll at three o'clock in the morning."

Seito popped his head in the door, "Daidai."

"Speak of the devil," I said under my breath, "Or shall I say the devil doll."

Aomine held back a laugh, "What?" he asked boredly.

Seito smiled, "Can you go get my lunch for me?"  
"Mhmm, I'm right on it," said an unmoving Aomine.

An unsure Seito looked at me and smiled wider, "Shishi, working hard as usual? You know I've probably said it a million times already but I'll say it again, a pretty girl like you shouldn't smoke."

"A pretty girl like me also shouldn't flip you off, but I'm gonna do it anyway," I said as I stuck my middle finger out at him.

"Okay, by the way Daidai, I would like a sandwich for lunch, and a small garden salad on the side wouldn't hurt," Seito said waving his hand.

"Mmmm," was Aomine's response.

"Bye bye darlings," Seito said before twirling off to god knows where.

"That salad's not gonna hurt him but I might," Aomine grumbled.

"I would give you fifty teriyaki burgers if you hurt him in front of me," I mumbled in response.

"So, back to our original conversation, so does that leave Kise with the best ass?" Aomine asked.

"Yes it does," I answered.

"I've heard a lot about this Kise character, it'd be interesting to meet him one day," Junichi said suddenly.

"Hopefully you never will," Aomine growled.

"Daiki," I chided, "You shouldn't say something like that about your friend."

"But-" Aomine started.

"But nothing, you've been friends with Kise far longer than we've been friends, so your loyalty should be with him," I said.

Aomine glared at me for a couple minutes before saying, "He made you cry."

Junichi looked at me in surprise, "Cry? Are you sure you have the right Shira?"  
"Blueberry-chan, we don't speak of that," I said.

Aomine held a sour look on his face and I added, "We pinky swore."

"Fine," Aomine growled.

The office fell into a comfortable silence after that. Junichi's rhythmic typing and the scratch of my pen against paper were only disrupted by Aomine preparing himself to make the long journey to a sandwich shop to get Seito's lunch. As Aomine stood up, the dean opened the door to the office and stepped in. I sighed, knowing this couldn't be good, "Good aftern-" I started.

"Shira," he said as he pushed up his glasses, "You're delinquent friend is making a ruckus. Again."

My eyebrow twitched, "My apologies dean."

"I expect you to handle the situation immediately, he is currently engaged in an altercation with another student near the art department," the dean said to me.

"Any reason why the security guards can't handle this?" I asked.

"They refuse to go near him after last month's incident. That is all," the dean finished and walked out.

"Who was he talking about?" Aomine asked as I walked out the door.

"Shougo," I answered.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked.

I smiled, "Nah, you go get lunch, but be a good little blueberry and bring me some food too okay?"

I left Aomine's grumbles behind me and made my way across campus quickly, where it was all too easy to pinpoint the exact location of the fight due to the large crowd of students that had congregated in one hallway. Thankfully most of them recognized me as "Shira sensei" and parted for me to be able to get through. When I emerged through the crowd, I immediately saw Shougo's silver hair in front of me and I grabbed his shirt collar saying, "What the hell are you doing?"

The one thing I didn't see was the person who Shougo was fighting. Looking over for a brief second my eyes widened. I did not expect to see Kise. I did not expect for him to be wearing my earring. I also did not expect for him to punch me in the face.

Anyone watching could see that the punch was meant for Shougo, I just happened to move in the way and it was too late for him to pull back his arm. My face was pushed to the right as Kise's fist collided with my cheek and I looked back at him when his hand retracted. He looked shocked, wide eyes and an open mouth, "Shiracchi…" he croaked out before Shougo took advantage of both Kise and I's lapse of awareness of what was going on and punched Kise square in the nose, causing Kise to fall down in unconsciousness.

At that exact moment, the dean decided to pop up, "Shira, I expect you to handle this situation," he reminded me before buzzing off somewhere.

I sighed, at least his presence had scared off most of the kids, so there were only five other people in the hallway. A familiar softness brushed against my shoulder, "Shira senpai, are you okay?"

I looked down at Sakura; true to her word, she had followed me to Tokyo U and she was in her second year working towards a fine arts degree, "Yeah, just get your," I pointed at Shougo, "PSYCHOTIC BOYFRIEND away from this campus."

Sakura laughed nervously, "Okay then," she said pulling a still fuming Shougo away.

I looked at the three remaining people, "Oh, it's nice to see you guys, how's your first month of college going?"

Kuroko, Kagami, and Momoi looked at me with bewildered faces, "Umm...okay...I guess?" Momoi managed to sputter out.

"Oi, are you sure you're okay?" Kagami asked me.

"Yeah, I mean," I looked down at the blonde on the ground, "It's Kise, the punch was weak; I'm actually a bit ashamed for him."

Kagami gave me a weak smile, "I can help carry him to the infirmary."

"Kagami-kun," Kuroko spoke up, "We have English in five minutes, you can't afford to miss class."

Kagami looked between us, "But-"

"It's fine," I interrupted, "I can do it myself."

"You sure?" Kagami asked me.

I grabbed one of Kise's feet and started tugging, "Yeah, go to your class, make sure to be nice to your professors they go through a lot!" I yelled as I dragged Kise away.

I got him to the infirmary quickly, albeit a bit roughly. It was empty when I entered, and Kise started to wake immediately after I managed to push him up on a bed, "What happened?" he asked groggily.

"Shougo punched you right in the nose," I said.

Kise sat up and as soon as he did, blood started gushing out of his nostrils. I immediately grabbed his nose and tilted his head upwards, "Where's the nurse?" Kise asked in a squeaky voice.

"She's not here; I assume she's at lunch so you're just going to have to deal with my crude patch up job," I answered.

I felt the bridge of his nose," It's not broken."

Kise narrowed his eyes, "Is that your medical opinion?" he asked me scathingly.

I looked at Kise; he hadn't changed much, maybe a bit taller and with more mature features, but overall the same Kise. Although it seemed like I was dealing with the cold side of him right now, which I guess was to be expected. I sighed, "If it was broken it'd hurt a lot more when I did this," I said as I squeezed his nose harshly.

I let go and turned around to leave when I heard Kise ask, "Wait, where are you going?"

I stopped and said with my back still turned to him, "My cheek hurts, there is blood under my fingernails that's going to be a bitch to get out, and you're being an asshole, so I'm leaving. You can wait here for the nurse to get back."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," Kise said.

I turned around, and wordlessly cleaned the blood off Kise's face and placed a bandage on his nose. I couldn't speak to what he had said, because in my mind I knew that he was apologizing for hitting me, but in my heart I felt if I said it was okay and that I forgive him, it would negate what he had done to actually hurt me. Of all the things Kise did, punching me was the least painful.

After I was done, I went to leave again, "Haizawa senpai," Kise called out to me.

It felt like a stab in the chest, somehow worse than the last time we had an encounter and he called me that. The two words had hit me just as hard the night that he gave me that look of pure hatred, and it felt as if not only had the wound not fully healed, but the weapon was still lodged in my chest. Dormant. Waiting. Sleeping. Until this moment, when it dug and burrowed further into me to the point I wanted to scream. I had stopped once he spoke, my heart beating quickly in my chest coupled with a loud ringing in my ears, "Haizawa senpai, I don't want things to be weird between us; I want us to be friends," Kise said.

After he said that, there was complete silence, it was so quiet I could hear both of us breathing. I was numb, like my brain was frozen and my body was moving by instinct alone. Fight or flight. And all I wanted to do was run. As I reached the door and pulled down the handle, a sudden rage shot through my veins and I ask with a monotone voice, "Hey Kise, you remember at the beginning of your first year in high school, how I hated you, but I didn't really have a reason to?"

"Yeah," Kise said.

"Now I have a reason," I said with my voice dripping with malice.

I slammed the door behind me angrily and rushed back to the office. "Hey Ichi," I said.

Junichi looked up at me with his droopy green eyes unusually wide, "Shira, what happened?"

I looked down at my arms, which were covered in blood, "I know I said I'd help you tonight, but I really need to go home and get some sleep."

"Yeah of course, Seito just came in and told me he actually needs it next Monday, so it's fine...not like I pushed everything back to work on it all day or anything," Junichi said.

I grabbed my jacket, "Okay, bye bye," I said imitating Seito.

I walked home in a daze, fed Kise and Shira Jr., and fed the cat which was not my cat. The white blob of pureness that did not belong in the darkness of my apartment was Junichi's, but the college wouldn't let him keep her in his dorm room, so I became her foster mother. Her name was Karma, and she usually gave me the dirtiest looks, but today she gave me one that said, "Why are you covered in blood with a sad face?"

I laid down on my bed, where she had made herself comfortable after finishing her food and said, "Because a boy who broke my heart broke it all over again today." I then drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Hey," someone said as they shook me awake.

I opened my crusty eyes and looked up, "Hi Zami."

Takeda looked at me concerned, "What the hell happened to you?"

"Do I look that depressed?" I asked slightly alarmed, Takeda was the only other person besides Aomine that knew most of what happened between me and Kise and given Takeda's temper, I didn't want to let him know Kise was around.

"What? No, you look like you fucking killed someone last night," Takeda.

I looked down where he was looking; my arms, which I had forgotten to wash off, were covered in brown, dried, sticky Kise blood, "Oh that," I said quietly.

"Did you actually kill someone, cause I can call some people and have that shit covered up real quick," Takeda said seriously.

I smiled, "No, I just caught someone's nose bleed and was too tired when I came home."  
"That job's gonna kill you," Takeda said as I went into my bathroom and turned on the water.

I stripped and entered my shower, instantly feeling relieved. The warm water made quick work out of the blood and I felt refreshed and in better spirits, "Is there any reason for you to be depressed?" Takeda asked.

I jumped at the closeness of his voice, before turning and seeing the outline of his silhouette on the other side of the shower curtain, "No, why?" I asked, stepping out of the shower.

'It's a pretty weird thing to say right when you wake up," Takeda said as I rooted around the bathroom for a towel.

He grabbed one from the counter and handed it to me, "I'm weirder in the mornings remember?" I said taking it from him and wrapping it around my body.

I stepped out of the bathroom and asked, "So what brings you here this early?"

"I can't stay, I'm visiting my grandfather in Shizuoka so I'll be away for a bit, I thought I'd bring you breakfast and say goodbye."

I smelled the food from my kitchen, "Zami, you're a god."

Takeda laughed and kissed my forehead saying, "Thanks, I'll let you get ready."

After he left, I put my hair in a loose bun, got dressed, downed all of the food Takeda had brought me, and headed to the university.

As I walked up to the office, one question ran through my mind. "Was peace too much to ask for?"

I frowned at Aomine and Aomine frowned back, but Kise was all smiles as he turned to me and said cheerfully, "Good morning senpai!"

I looked at his smiling face with contempt. Was he really trying to act like this was normal, like nothing had ever happened? My heart dropped, because I knew, I knew that the way he was now, he would never understand what he did to me, and I'd never know what I did to him, because he refuses to acknowledge what kept us apart for two years, "You haven't changed at all," I commented walking past him.

"I know!" he said excitedly.

"It wasn't a fucking compliment," I said in a steely tone before slamming the office door behind me.

"Shira-kun," I heard beside me.

I was startled to see Kuroko standing next to me, "What are you doing in here?" I asked.

"What are you talking about? I followed you in here, you almost hit me with the door," he said.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"It's okay, I'm used to it," Kuroko said.

Silence ensued before Kuroko spoke again, "I know it's not my place to tell you to forgive Kise, but maybe you could consider being his friend again."

"I can't," I said in a low voice.

"Why?" Kuroko asked me.

I sighed, "I love him too much to hate him, but do you know how scary that is Kuroko? It scares me how little it would take for me to completely forget about anything that happened, but Kise by himself scares me too. He's too immature, too flighty, I can't tiptoe around someone and hope that they don't get up and leave me without a word...I can't do that."

"I understand," Kuroko said.

"And another thing my sweet panda," I said.

"What?" Kuroko asked.

"I can't be just friends with him," I said in barely a whisper.

* * *

Hi there! I want to thank the people who read/follow/favorite this and a special thanks to the lovely awesome people who leave reviews because you guys give me

life. To Yournumberonekou, I'm so happy you love this story and I can totally understand why you would ship aominexshira at this point, Aomine is seriously being

the best bro right now. And thank you for waiting for me to upload the chapters, I post them on Wednesdays and Sundays at like 12 AM my time (which is California

btw) and I don't know if you're in the same or a completely different time zone, but thank you for waiting all day, you're awesome. To A Sparkly Penguin, it feels like

I'm writing a letter to a sparkly penguin so thank you for having that name, and I'm sorry Kise's being a brat so Aomine has to save the day, but he'll grow up soon.

Hopefully. To amy1945, the time skip was almost purely me trying to draw out this fic because I didn't want to finish writing it lol, and while I have half a mind to give

up on Kise and just change this to an AominexOC fic, don't worry, your KisexShira feels will return by the last couple chapters of this if not sooner. To Akashicchi-ssu,

it would definitely be interesting to see Kise being Shira's "student", but alas, he is in another history class. I'll give you a lil bit of info here, Kagami just so happens

to be one of Shira's students, and that will make one blonde headed college student on the same basketball team as Kagami a very jealous man. To Xrupa, the

AominexShira fluff does rock indeed, and expect more of it. I made them really close because I kind of view Shira as the female version of Aomine, why he didn't read

Shira's unusual niceness in giving him a job, I don't know. Boy shoulda known something was up. Thank you for referring to Seito as a special snowflake of a person

because that is the most beautiful description of him I could think of, I really don't know what happened with him, I kept on trying and trying really hard to make him

so annoying everyone would hate him, but it seems to have the opposite affect. And thank you for saying that you love every second of reading this; I totally didn't

smile at my computer screen for five minutes after reading that.


	31. Chapter 31

"I'm bored."

I looked across the room at the yawning Aomine, "Then do something, you could help me file these for a start," I said gesturing to the stack of papers on my desk.

"That'll just make me boreder," Aomine said tiredly.

"Not a word," Junichi piped from his computer.

"Hah?" Aomine said.

Junichi looked up from his computer, "Boreder isn't a word, it's more bored."

Aomine looked at Junichi blankly, "Did I look like I was asking for a grammar lesson pretty boy?"

Junichi wore a hurt expression on his face and I'm sure he was about to cry, "I was just-," he started.

I interrupted, "To be fair Ichi, "'Not a word"' isn't a complete sentence."

"Yeah," Aomine followed up after me.

I smiled and sent a wink Junichi's way as I said, "Anything to soothe your ego Daiki."

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?" Aomine growled at me.

I chuckled, "Exactly what it sounded like."

"Tch," Aomine scoffed and looked away, but his expression immediately changed when the door to the office opened.

I heard Aomine groan before a voice went, "Daidai, there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Aomine scowled, "Where the fuck else would I be?"

Seito twirled into the office and sprawled himself out on my desk, "I went to the gym in hopes to see my little Daidai practice, I haven't ever seen you play you know?"

"Good," Aomine grunted.

Seito rolled over onto his stomach and rested his chin on his hands, "Daidai, you should give me your practice schedule so sensei can see you play."

"Hell no," Aomine protested.

Seito sighed and rolled on his back, "I guess I'll have to wait until your first game to watch you," his expression then changed to one of excitement and he sat up quickly saying, "I know! I'll get really fluffy pom poms and a big banner that says I heart Daidai!"

"Please don't," Junichi managed to get in before Aomine said anything.

I would've normally expected Aomine to explode at a statement like that, but he seemed to be getting used to Seito's ways because his only response was, "I'm going to talk to my coach and get you banned."

"Daidai, that's so unnecessary!" Seito whined and flung himself back onto my desk.

Seito turned to me and smiled, "Daidai plays hard to get huh?"

I frowned at him, "You know, it would be easier to finish the ungodly workload you thrust upon us if you got the fuck off my desk."

Seito stood up, "I have a meeting to go to now, Daidai, come take notes for me."

"Seisei, Daiki can't do that right now, I need him to help me out with something," I said.

Seito's eyes sparkled, "Did you just give me a nickname? Shishi, you've always been my favorite, I knew you were special the day we met on the train!" he sang before he pirouetted out of the room.

"That guy, he just doesn't get when someone's being condescending to him," Aomine observed.

"Nope," I agreed.

Aomine gave me a small smile, "Anyway, thanks for bailing me out of having to sit in some boring ass meeting."

I gave him a sadistic smile, "Who said you were getting bailed out?"

Aomine narrowed his eyes, "What are you making me do?"

I laughed, "Don't worry Daiki, it's nothing strenuous although I don't think you're going to find it the most exciting thing you've ever done."

"What?" Aomine asked unconvinced.

"Starting today you have to sit in on me and Ichi teaching Seito's regular classes," I said.

"Why the fuck do I have to do that?" Aomine asked.

"Because this is Ichi's last year, which means next year it's going to be you and me up there-" I started.

"Those poor freshman, you're already intimidating enough without adding Aomine," Junichi interjected.

I ignored his comment, "And the year after that you're on your own for the next couple of years along with whoever decides to apply."

Aomine scoffed, "And what makes you so sure I'm gonna work here that long?"

"Because with a mouth and a work ethic like yours, you can't work anywhere else," I replied.

"Tch," was Aomine's response.

"Come on, you don't want to be late for your first class," I said, pulling Aomine towards the door.

"Wasn't it you who was telling me that we should be late on purpose a couple weeks ago?" Junichi questioned as he followed me out the door.

"That was a different time and situation," I said walking to the classroom.

"How is it different?" Junichi questioned.

"Because I get to torture Daiki," I said with a smile on my face.

"Oi!" Aomine shouted after me as I walked into the classroom.

"Stop whining," I said, and sat him in the chair of the desk up front, "Now you can take notes if you want, but you really just have to listen and get a feel for the lesson plan."

"Whatever," Aomine grumbled.

"Shira? Ahomine?" I heard from the entryway of the classroom.

I looked at the redhead standing in front of me, "Oh hey American pie, what's up?"

"Who're you calling Ahomine, BAKAGAMI!?" Aomine yelled.

Kagami ignored him and looked around, "Am I in the right classroom?"

"Do you have Seito Takeuchi for History?" I asked.

"Yeah," Kagami answered.

I smiled, "Then you're in the right place, from here on today, I'll be your faithful sensei nanodayo."

Kagami gave me a weird look, "Why did you end that sentence with nanodayo?"

"It just felt right," I said.

"I'm going to find my seat now," he said.

"Okay, but just because we're friends doesn't mean I'll go easy on you!" I yelled as he walked away.

"I understand," I heard Kagami mumble.

"I was just kidding, you're already my favorite student in this class!" I said.

"Don't stay stuff like that, you're embarrassing me!" Kagami yelled back at me.

"He's so cute," I hummed.

"I'm cute," I heard Aomine say behind me.

I frowned, "Kagami is a sweet cinnamon roll, you on the other hand, are a sinnamon roll."

"Huh?" Aomine asked in confusion.

I turned away from him, "Izuki would be so proud."

* * *

I was finishing up a cigarette when Kagami came up to me and Aomine after class, "Hey, the rest of us had classes today, and we were gonna meet up in the cafeteria, you guy's gonna come?"

I put the cigarette out, "I don't know."

"Don't be ridiculous, you're going," Aomine said.

I reached into the desk and popped something in my mouth, "I love it when you're forceful with me Daiki," I said in an overly girly voice.

"I didn't know you were a lollipop person," I heard Kagami said.

"Hmmm?" I asked.

"The lollipop," he said pointing to the thing sticking out of my mouth.

"She's not; she was visiting her brother, and Murasakibara made her eat a lollipop every time she finished a cigarette and it just became a habit," Aomine answered for me.

"What he said," I said.

Kagami looked at the two of us, "He's like a walking encyclopedia on the behaviour of Shira," Junichi said.

I laughed, "So, are we going or what?"

The lunch included mostly everyone, Kuroko, Kagami, Momoi, Aomine, and Kise and I. So it should have been awkward. Key word: Should have. The blonde with a small bruise on his nose was acting like everything was fine, nothing had happened, and we were all the best of friends. Maybe I should've been grateful he was making such an effort to keep the conversation going in a good direction, but it was having the opposite effect. As someone who doesn't like sweeping anything under the rug, I was getting extremely pissed off, and I expressed my anger through violently stabbing my food with my fork. "Shira senpai, it was really nice of you to get Dai-chan a job," I heard Momoi say to me.

"Yeah, I knew Daiki was the only one I could rope into that," I said while I chewed.

"You must be good friends," Kagami said.

"Hmm?" I asked.

"You got him a job, and you two call each other by your first names," he said.

"Yeah, we're bros now," I said chuckling.

"It's purely conditional," Aomine said in a grumbling tone.

I looked at him and said with a serious tone, "Daiki, we don't speak of that night, I don't know what's up with you, but you've brought it up two times in the past two days and I would just like to remind you we pinky swore."

"It's hard to keep your mouth shut when it's right in front of you," Aomine said.

My eyes flicked over to Kise as Kuroko asked, "What are you two talking about?"  
"Nothing," Aomine and I said in unison.

"I'm jealous now, you and Dai-chan never include me in your secrets," Momoi whined.

"That's because you can't keep a secret Satsuki," Aomine said.

"That's not- actually that might be true," said a deflated Momoi.

"Shira senpai!" I heard across from the cafeteria.

I looked over to see Sakura coming towards me, of course she was with her boyfriend. I would normally refer to Shougo as my best friend, but I was angry with him right now, so he was demoted to the simple title of "Sakura's boyfriend". Just a side note, I take full responsibility for their relationship, which had been ongoing for over a year now. I felt her hug me and I looked over to Shougo, who had begun a quite aggressive staring match with Kise. "You seem to be here a lot for someone who doesn't go here," Kise growled.

"I'm visiting my girl, but you understand right? Oh that's right, girls only date you because you're a model and they run for the hills once they get a taste of your actual personality," Shougo laughed menacingly.

I slammed my fist on the table, "I don't really give a fuck if you two kill each other, it would actually be a weight off of my shoulders, but please do it off campus because the dean has associated both of you with me and I don't need any bullshit from him."

"Sorry," Kise mumbled.

I stood up, "I need to go home," I grumbled.

"I'll go with you," Aomine said.

"But Dai-chan, we have class," I heard Momoi say as I walked away from the table.

I was halfway home when I felt someone tug on my arm, "Hey."

I looked up to see Shougo, "I'm not happy with you," I said.

"I know, I'm sorry okay? I promise no more fighting on campus," he said.

"You better be serious Sho, it'll become problematic for me too if it keeps happening," I heard a voice say from the other side of him and I was made aware of Sakura's presence.

"Sakura," I said.

"Shira senpai," she said back.

"I take it you two are coming over," I said as I reached my apartment building.

"Yep," Sakura said happily.

I wished she could've remained happy, but it was evident soon after we got into my apartment that was not going to happen. As soon as I entered my living room, I felt something felt different and I walked around until I reached the fishbowl. I bent down and saw two fish bodies floating on top of the water, "Kise and Shira Jr…" I muttered.

Sakura walked up next to me, "Are they dead?" she asked with her voice cracking.

"It would appear so," I said.

She started crying profusely and Shougo quickly made his way into the living room and scooped her up, "Babe, what's wrong?"

"Kise and Shira," she sniffed.

Shougo looked at me in confusion, "The fish," I elaborated.

He looked at the fishbowl and scrunched his nose, "That's gross, you need to throw them away."

"I can't do that," I said.

"Yeah!" Sakura said tearfully, "How could you be so insensitive?"

"If I throw them in the trash they're going to stink up the whole apartment, you have to flush them down the toilet," I said.

Sakura gave me a look of shock, "Shira...how..could..you?"

"Saku-" I started to say, but she ran into the bathroom crying and locked the door.

"We can't flush them now," I said.

"Did she do that on purpose?" Haizaki asked.

I turned to him, "Your girlfriend's smart."

Haizaki scowled, "We'll just have to wait for her to come out."

Two hours later, Sakura was still in the bathroom and it was then that we heard the knocking. It was frantic, and seemed like a lot more than two hands pounding on the door. I opened my door and saw Aomine, Momoi, Kuroko, Kagami, and Kise in the back; all of them seemed out of breath. Aomine pulled me into a hug, "You're okay," he said.

"Umm, yeah," I said pulling away from him and into my apartment.

"Kise, you're okay too!" Momoi yelled.

"Yes?" Kise answered.

"I don't mean to be rude, but why are all of you here?" I asked.

"I got a text that Shiracchi was dead," Kise replied.

My heart warmed when I heard him call me by my nickname again, but I was too preoccupied with the "dead" thing. "We all got texts saying that BOTH you and Kise were dead!" Momoi said as she wiped her tears.

"From Sakura?" I asked, going on a hunch.

She nodded, "Kise and Shira Jr. are the ones who died," I explained.

"My fish," I explained further when she gave me a questioning look.

Suddenly Sakura emerged from the bathroom, with a seemingly calm face, "Sakura, what was the meaning of texting them?" I asked.

She sniffled, "For the funeral of course."

And that was how all eight of us wedged into my small bathroom and huddled around the toilet, which contained the dead bodies of Kise and Shira Jr. "Shira senpai, say your parting words," Sakura said as she poked me in the ribs with her elbow.

"Parting words?" I asked.

"You were their owner," she hissed at me.

"Fine," I said and cleared my throat, "Shira and Kise Jr. were very good fish, both were from festivals; one I got from Shougo, the other from Kise," I said looking back at the two who were scowling at one another.

"Shira Jr. was a good buddy, she...swam, and...looked at me...occasionally. As for Kise Jr., I'm pretty sure most would agree with me that Kise Sr. should have gone first," I finished.

I heard Shougo snicker, and although I didn't look back to see the expression on Kise's face, I'm sure it was priceless.

* * *

Hi there! I want to thank all the people who read/favorite/favorite this and especially the people who leave reviews. amy1945, HE'S BACK, and he'll be more

prominent in the next chapter, but for now he's taking a bit of a back seat. And while I am all for you liking Takeda, just keep in mind he did stab Hanamiya

and punch Kise in the face last time we saw him, so do not be surprised if he has a violent outburst in the future.


	32. Chapter 32

If I had to describe the next month or two in a few words they would be deja vu. I felt like I was in a warped version of my last year of high school, with Kise desperately trying to get me to like him and me acting as disinterested as possible. Something was different this time around though, I wasn't as dense about the fact that I was in love with him. I had accepted the fact that I still loved him after all the time we spent apart, but that didn't mean I was going to do anything about it. Avoiding him as much as possible, even in a friend way, was simply an attempt to stay away from temptation. Despite how it may seem on the outside, it was something very hard for me to do, I felt like Kise was a slice of cake and I was Murasakibara.

Another thing that was very irritating to me, was that Kise was acting the way that he did when I first met him. Now, I knew him long enough and was close enough to him to know that Kise had two very distinct sides to him that were situational, but that isn't the issue. The issue was that Kise was acting towards me in a way akin to how he would act around his fangirls; an eager to please, passive, and smiling doll. It pissed me off to put it bluntly, and I was offended that he would offer up that persona to me. I guess it wasn't that surprising, given the fact he had decided to feign amnesia about that night at the winter cup it wasn't farfetched that he would also choose to treat me like we hadn't gotten as close as we were. "It's almost disgusting," I mumbled.

"What?" Aomine asked.

I looked up at him, coming to my thoughts, "Nothing."

Aomine narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean, nothing?"

I sighed, "I'm just tired okay?"

"It's that damn Seito, I wanna punch that guy in the face," Aomine growled.

My lips twitched into a smile, "Well, you've already punched my best friend in the face once, why not my boss?"

"Our boss," Aomine tried to correct.

"He's not gonna be your boss if you punch him, he's oblivious but not that oblivious," I said.

"Whatever," Aomine scoffed and angrily went back to filing.

"Shira, are you sure you're okay, you kinda have an angry look on your face," Junichi asked.

"What are you saying Ichi, this is my natural face," I deadpanned.

Junichi immediately became flustered, "No, no, I didn't mean-"

"I was just joking, but I just feel like punching something," I said seriously.

"Aomine's right over there," Junichi said.

Aomine turned toward us and glared, "You know what man? I thought you were nice."

Both Junichi and I started laughing, "Calm down Daiki, you know you're our favorite little underclassman," I said trying to soothe him.

Aomine started muttering incoherently at the filing cabinet, and was only interrupted by the door swinging open. I didn't need to look up to know who it was, even if he hadn't been bringing me and Aomine lunch every single day for the past month to try and get me to talk to him, I would've recognized that overly happy voice anywhere. "Hihi, Aominecchi, Shiracchi," I heard as a sandwich was placed on my desk.

"Hey Kise," Aomine grumbled.

I ignored him and got up saying, "I'm going to have lunch with Sakura."

I halfway slammed the door and made my way over to the art department. I opened the door to the main studio to find Sakura working on a piece with a granola bar dangling from her mouth. "Hey," I said sitting down next to her.

She looked at me surprised, "Oh hi Shira senpai, what are you doing here."

"Nothin, just wanted to see you," I tried to say nonchalantly.

Sakura smiled, "Kise's still being annoying isn't he?"

I sighed in exasperation, "Pretty much."

Sakura chuckled, "At least he's bringing you food."

"I just wanted to get out of there, I didn't even take the food with me," I grumbled.

Sakura looked at me with wide eyes, "You? Refuse food?," she whistled, "You must be really pissed."

I groaned and rubbed my eyes, "It's not that completely, I don't know what I feel right now. It's complicated, like most things that have to do with Kise."

"It's abstract," Sakura said.

"You're only saying that because that's what you're painting right now," I said.

"No, I'm being serious!" Sakura protested.

"Nah, you're just saying it because," I motioned my hand at the canvas, "Whatever the fuck this is."

"Shira senpai, listen to me!" Sakura pouted.

"Fine," I said chuckling.

"The love between you two is abstract, it's not physical, it's a concept right now," Sakura said.

"You lost me," I said.

Sakura sighed and drooped her head to the right, "Never mind, long story short, I think you should just grab Kise and kiss him, at least that's what I did with Shougo."

"I don't think I need to handle this the same way you would with Shougo, plus, I'm not trying to be with Kise," I said.

"Then what are you trying to do?" Sakura asked.

"Avoid him as much as possible," I said.

"I think you should be together," Sakura whined.

"What? Two years ago you hated Kise, what the hell changed your mind?" I asked her in shock.

"Well, I've had two years to think about it, and I just think the two of you compliment each other ya know?" she hummed at me.

I leaned back in my chair and replied absentmindedly, "Maybe once upon a time I thought that."

"You two don't compliment each other now because you're both being immature," a voice said to the side of me.

I thought it was comical that Sakura was the one to fall off her chair when I had been the one leaning back, but I helped her up and said, "Hey Kuroko."

"Hello Shira-kun, Sakura-kun are you alright?" Kuroko asked.

Sakura rubbed her head, "Yeah I'm okay, I didn't see you there, sorry."

"It's okay, I'm used to it," Kuroko said.

"What did you say before sweet panda? Sakura and I were too startled to hear you," I said.

"You and Kise don't compliment each other," he said bluntly.

"See? This one gets it, we don't belong together," I said to Sakura.

"Please don't twist my words Shira-kun," Kuroko said sternly.

"Such harsh tones," I whined, "But you just said-"

"Let me finish," he interrupted.

He took a deep breath in and said, "You and Kise-kun don't compliment each other right now because you're both immature; Kise's immature all by himself, but you're responding in a childish way Shira-kun."

I clucked my tongue, "Kuroko we already discussed this, Kise didn't want to talk to me for two years and now since he suddenly wants to be friends again, I'm supposed to just let it go?"

"No, but you two should talk about what happened," Kuroko said.

"He doesn't want to," I said.

"Have you confronted him about it yet?" Kuroko asked.

"No," I conceded.

"Kise is trying to be your friend, if he didn't care about you he wouldn't acknowledge you at all," Kuroko said.

"You have to prod him into the conversation," Kuroko added.

I sighed, "It seems like a lot of drama."

"Suit yourself, I'm not the one who's in love with him," Kuroko said.

"I didn't realize everyone had such an opinion about th-" I started, but stopped when I realized he had disappeared.

"Hey Shira-kun."

I whipped my head around to Sakura who started laughing, "You thought I was Kuroko didn't you?"

I laughed, "In my defense, it was a very good impression Sakura."

Sakura smiled and looked at me mischieviously, "So for that moment of humor can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, what?" I said.

"I'm sort of wrapped up with my final right now, can you go to the gym and let the basketball coach know that I won't be finished with the banners for the game until next week?" she asked me.

"Sure thing," I said.

"Thank you Shira senpai!" Sakura called after me as I left the studio.

They gym was all the way across campus and was a good twenty minute walk from the fine arts studios. When I entered I felt slightly out of place because I was surrounded by super athletic people sweating probably more than I would in my entire lifetime. I had dealt with the basketball coach ,Tansai, many a time in place of Seito, so at least I wasn't wandering around aimlessly. Tansai was a tall muscular man in his thirties who was very serious and intense about his work, he tended to have a short fuse and get angry quickly, so it's safe to say he and Seito don't mix well together.

I groaned as I walked onto the basketball court, where he was bound to be, and I cursed my luck when I saw the figure he was yelling at, "KISE, I TOLD YOU BEFORE YOU HAVE TO THINK AND CALCULATE BEFORE YOU SHOOT! THIS IS COLLEGE BASKETBALL! THIS SHIT WON'T WORK!"

I walked up slowly as I watched the blonde flinch and redirect his shot. I was hoping to sneak in and deliver the message to Tansai without Kise noticing me, but unfortunately Tansai outed me, "SHIRAHIME!"

My eyebrow twitched as Kise turned to look at me and I growled back at Tansai, "I'm not one of your players, don't scream at me."

"Sorry, I was in the moment," Tansai said as I walked up to him, "So, what's up? That bitch sensei of yours need something?" he asked.

"Shiracchi! What are you doing here?" Kise yelled across the court.

"SHUT UP AND GET BACK TO PRACTICE, SHE'S NOT HERE FOR YOU!" Tansai yelled at him.

He turned to me as Kise shrunk away, "You were saying?"

"I'm not here on behalf of Seito this time, Sakura asked me to tell you that the banners won't be ready till next week," I said.

He clucked his tongue, "Okay, tell her that's fine."

"All righ-" I started saying.

"SHISHI!" I heard a voice yell from the entry.

Both Tansai and I cringed at Seito's voice as he approached us, "Hey Tantan!" he said cheerfully.

"Tch, what the hell are you doing here?" Tansai asked.

Seito ignored him and came up to me, "Shishi, what are you doing here? It's your day off."

"You failed to tell me that," I said irritatedly.

"Oh, I did? Oh well, you can have tomorrow off!" he said happily.

"Sure," I said boredly.

"Eh, Shiracchi who is this-ssu?" I heard Kise asked.

"KISE! I TOLD YOU TO KEEP PRACTICING!" Tansai screamed.

"Kise...Kiki then!" Seito said excitedly.

"Seito," I said.

"Yes, Shishi?" he asked.

I sighed, "just...shut up."

Seito smiled, "Anywho, I came here because I need to discuss a certain student and his grades with you."

"Fine," Tansai sighed angrily, "Come on, let's go to my office."

I watched them leave the gym, and looking back I should've run away as quickly as possible because before I knew it, Kise was next to me asking me, "Who was that guy?"

"My boss," I answered plainly.

"Is he a professor?" he asked.

I nodded.

"What subject?"

"History," I said in the most monotone voice.

I tried to leave quickly after that, but a hand wrapped tightly around my wrist stopped me from doing that. I turned around and gave Kise a questioning look, "Shiracchi…"

I stood there for a couple minutes, wondering if he was going to say something else, but when nothing but silence ensued, I attempted to worm my arm out of his grasp. He tightened his hold on me and his eyes went wide before he plastered on a big smile and said in a syrupy voice, "Hey Shiracchi, I just noticed you're the only girl I've known that never asked me to teach them about basketball."

"Because I don't care about basketball," I replied honestly.

Kise laughed nervously as he pulled me towards him and picked up a basketball, "Let me teach you about passing, you like passing because of Kurokocchi right?"

Before I could say anything he distanced himself from me and said, "Ready?" before attempting to throw me the ball.

Something in me blew and I stood there unmoving as the ball came towards and passed by me. Kise gave me a concerned look and and I lost any composure that I had managed to uphold these past two months, "What's wrong Shiracchi?" Kise asked.

I clenched my fists and yelled, "Kise, this isn't some sports anime! We aren't going to play a game of basketball and everything's going to be alright!"

I started slowly stepping back from him and ran my fingers through my hair as I shook my head furiously, "I am not going to do this anymore; I am not going to pretend like we're friends; I am not going to pretend that night at the Winter Cup didn't happen, and I'm sure as hell not going to pretend that these two years have gone by; without a word from you I might add."

I then tried to leave. Tried. I heard a thud behind me, and looked back to see Kise lying on the floor. He had tripped over the basketball when he tried to run after me and was now clutching his right leg in pain. "Fuck," I said to myself as I walked over to him.

He looked at me, "I'm fine, just leave Shiracchi."

"No, that's your job," I said as I grabbed his arm and slung it over my shoulders.

"Can you walk?" I asked.

"Not really," he said softly.

"Shit," I said.

"Just drop me off at the infirmary," Kise pouted.

"If you can't walk, you need to go to the hospital dipshit," I said.

And that was the series of events that led to me supporting Kise as we hopped into a taxi and then to a hospital, where I sat in a waiting room for three hours with a whining Kise and was forced to remind him that there were people having heart attacks and strokes that were more important. "It looks like it's just a sprain," the doctor says when he finally sees us.

"Really, it hurts so much," Kise said with tears in his eyes.

"That's because you're a piss baby," I said.

"We'll wrap it up for you shortly," the doctor said and disappeared.

I stood up, "I'm going to get something to drink."

I must have been gone for only twenty minutes, just long enough to smoke a cigarette and get a soda, but I was not prepared for a loopy Kise when I got back to the room. I watched as the blonde slowly fell asleep and turned to the doctor, "The fuck is this?" I asked, pointing as Kise.

"He was complaining about the pain, so we gave him some pain medicine," the doctor explained.

"And, how do you expect me to transport him home?" I asked,

"You can use a wheelchair to get him out of the hospital," the doctor said.

"And after that?" I asked.

The doctor shrugged, "You know what? Don't worry about it, I'll figure it out," I said.

I wheeled Kise out of the hospital and the taxi driver helped me shove Kise's body in the backseat, "Do you want me to return the wheelchair for you miss?" the driver asked me.

"You know, they gave it to us to use, so you can just fold it up and put it in the trunk," I said.

* * *

The sun had almost set completely when I heard my front door open and close. I was on the couch, half asleep under a blanket, and trying to avoid the harsh rays of the dying sunlight. A finger poked my cheek and I slowly opened my eyes to see Takeda looming over me, "Why're you on the couch?" he asked me.

I quickly jumped up from the couch and shuffled over to my door and said slamming it shut, "No reason."

Takeda looked at me suspiciously and walked towards me slowly asking, "Shira, what's in your room?"

"Nothing," I said quickly.

I was planted firmly in front of the door knob, or at least that's what I believed until the damn cat circled around my legs and caused me to almost trip. Takeda caught me, and simultaneously pushed me aside and opened my door. I turned towards him and saw the uncontrollable rage build up in his eyes, "Za-"

He turned to me, "Why, the fuck is he here?" he seethed.

"It was an unfortunate accident," I said.

"Yeah, an unfortunate accident for him," Takeda growled and started to go into my room.

"Zami, he's sleeping," I said, pulling on his shirt.

"He's not gonna be when I'm done with him," Takeda said, trying to pull away from me.

I wrapped my arms around his waist, "Zami, please stop."

He closed the door, "You're fucked up, you know that? You and your family."

I touched his shoulder, "Zami."

He smacked my hand away, "YOU WANT THAT PIECE OF SHIT?" he screamed at me.

I couldn't respond to him because my first response was to say that Kise wasn't a piece of shit and even I wanted to slap myself for that. "You know, my grandfather warned me about this, well, I'm not gonna stick around to be your "'boyfriend'" whenever you damn please!" he shouted at me and stormed out.

I groaned loudly and pulled on my hair, took a couple of deep breaths, and made my way back into my room. Kise was sprawled out on my bed, with Karma curled up comfortably next to him. I glared at her, "This is all your fault," I said to her.

She meowed at me and I looked down at Kise, who had managed to kick off all of the blankets I had placed on him. I pulled the covers over him and sat down on the bed; I sighed and brushed his hair out of his face with my fingers, "What are you doing to me?" I whispered.

The next day, I left before Kise woke up. I left him a note telling him to take care of himself, and to take the wheelchair home with him.

* * *

Hey there! I want to thank everyone who read/favorites/follows this story and a special thanks to the people who leave reviews. To **Xrupa**, I'm really glad you like

the line about Kise's death because it is probably my favorite line in this fic, and as for what Kagami thinks of his history class with Shira, there will be more teacher

student interactions between the two in the next couple chapters. To **amy1945**, yes that was Takeda who stabbed Hanamiya, I just wanted to remind you of the fact

that Takeda's a very violent person who has a temper problem so maybe you weren't too surprised at the end of this chapter, and that Kise Sr. line is one of my

faves in this fic. To **A Sparkly Penguin**, that line is one of my best and I had to make Sakura a likeable little squirt, she's Haizaki's girl after all. To **Gitali 'Aoirhue'**

**Kuran**, Shira's sarcasm is lovely, and I'm so happy you think this fic is good, and Kise's not on my favorite list of people either, but it'll get better soon.


	33. Chapter 33

It was...quiet. Unusually quiet. For the first few days I had this weird feeling that something was amiss, but I couldn't place what was wrong. It was like having an itch you can't scratch, and it was really irritating. But by the end of my first quiet week, I had figured out what was wrong. Kise was missing.

Okay, maybe not literally missing, but he was absent from my daily activities. He was gone, and I missed his voice, his smile, I even missed his whining. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when he stopped being around me, I mean what can you expect someone to do when you repeatedly push them away? I was frustrated to say the least and confusion is what kept me from going to him. Was he wrong for what he's done? Or am I wrong for not moving on? Those questions plagued me day and night, and I didn't know how to get them out of my head. It didn't help that Takeda wouldn't talk to me, but I understood why. I think we both knew deep inside that I'd never be able to love him like I love Kise, regardless of whether the latter was aware of my affection.  
"Shishi," a voice whined and snapped me out of my thoughts.

I looked at the man lying on my desk, "Oh, hi Seito."

"Were you even listening to me?" he asked.

"You were talking?" I asked.

"Ssshhhiiishiiiiii," he whined, wriggling on my desk.

I sighed, "What do you need from me?"

"Can you deliver these to Tantan for me?" he asked, handing me a stack of papers.

"Sure, what are they?" I asked.

"The students who don't have sufficient grades to play in next week's game," he answered.

"Okay, I'll go now," I said standing up.

"WAIT!" Seito shouted as he snatched the papers away from me.

I watched as he took a red pen and proceeded to draw hearts and a little message on the first page, "This type of shit's the reason he hates you," I said.

Seito looked up, "Tantan? Hate me? Tantan loves me, we're the best of friends."

"Mmhmm," I said unconvinced as I took the papers from him and left the office.

I made the long walk from the history department to the athletics department where my underweight, exhausted, and overworked form was eyed warily by toned people who had the luxury of taking care of themselves. I finally made it to the basketball court, which was full of students practicing, but I didn't mind given that I knew most of the people who were on the court. I walked up to Tansai, "Yo," I said.

"SHIRAHIME!" he shouted at me.

"I'm three inches away from you, don't yell at me!" I snapped at him.

"SHIRA SENPAI!" I heard a shrill voice that could belong to no one but Momoi yell across the court.

"So why are you here?" Tansai asked.

"Grade reports," I said as I felt figures approaching us.

I handed him the stack of papers and he looked at them before running his fingers through his burnt orange hair and saying loudly, "What are these hearts for Shirahime? I understand how easy it must be for a young deer like yourself to be attracted to such a virile man like me, but getting involved with a student would be unethical!"

I heard a ball hit the backboard and turned my head around to see Kise crouched in shooting position and glaring at Tansai. My eyes lingered on him longer than was necessary because they hadn't seen him in what seemed like a long time before I turned back to Tansai and said, "I didn't draw those on there, Seito sensei did."

Tansai stiffened, "He wrote you a message too I believe," I said.

"What does it say?" Kuroko asked, popping up behind Tansai.

Tansai jerked away, "NOTHING! IT'S PRIVATE!" he shouted and squatted in a corner to look at the papers.

"I hate that guy," Aomine grumbled next to me.

"Dai-chan, it's not good to feel that way about your boss," Momoi chided him.

"Momoi, as someone who also works under Seito sensei, I can tell you Daiki's feelings about him are 100% valid," I interjected.

"It's always two against one with you two, how can I ever win!?" Momoi whined.

"It's because Shira-kun and Aomine-kun think alike," Kuroko said.

"If they think so much alike, why don't they just date already!" Momoi shouted.

I gave Momoi a look like she had three heads while simultaneously catching glimpses of Kise trying to inch closer to the conversation, "out with me…" I heard.

I turned my head towards the person who had spoken, "Hmm?" I asked.

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea, wanna go on a date with me Shira?" Aomine asked.

I froze. I froze like a child caught with a spoonful of raw cookie dough. On one hand I was extremely annoyed that Aomine had asked me that while everyone was watching, and on the other I was wracking my brain for a reason to say no. Then I was cursing myself for trying to do that in the first place. Aomine was a good guy, he was cute, and we had the same sense of humor. Why didn't I want to go out with him? The answer to that question was trying and failing at attempting to remain nonchalant and act like he wasn't eavesdropping on this conversation. After a minute of awkward silence and everybody staring at me I thought "What the hell" and said, "Sure, pick a time and place and I'll be there brown sugar."

"I'll text you," Aomine said winking.

"ALL OF YOU NEED TO GET YOUR ASSES BACK TO PRACTICING!" Tansai yelled.

I cringed as he continued to shout, "KAGAMI, KISE, AOMINE, I WANT YOU UP AGAINST YOUR SENIORS. NOW!"

I watched as the six players began facing off against one another in anticipation of the magnificence that I perceived when I saw Kise, Aomine, and Kagami together. "Shira-kun," I heard next to me.

I looked down, "Yes sweet panda?"

"Has anything happened...between you and Kise?" he asked me softly.

"Why?" I asked back.

I didn't get an explanation from him due to Tansai yelling, "KISE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING! AOMINE WAS WIDE OPEN! WE DON'T PLAY SELFISH BASKETBALL HERE, MODEL FULL TIME IF YOU WANT THINGS TO BE ALL ABOUT YOU!"

Kuroko continued after Tansai quieted down, "He's been very moody lately. He won't pass during practice, and he hasn't talked to any of us this past week."

"I yelled at him a lot a week ago, and he sprained his leg, so I took him to the hospital and then back to my place," I said.

"I think that'd make him happy not depressed," Kuroko observed.

"I wasn't there when he woke up in the morning," I said.

"Why?" Kuroko asked.

"I was upset, I had a fight with my boyfriend about him the night before," I said.

"You have a boyfriend?" Kuroko asked surprised.

"Had," I corrected, "And boyfriend-ish, he took it more seriously than I did and the whole thing was a mistake."

"So he was insecure about Kise," Kuroko said.

"Well, last time he saw Kise was two and a half years ago and he knocked him out. He would've probably done a lot worse this time around if I hadn't stopped him. The problem is, he didn't like that I stopped him," I said.

"That story's familiar somehow," Kuroko mused.

"You may also recall him as the person who stabbed Hanamiya in the stomach," I said quietly.

"Shira-kun," Kuroko scolded.

"I know, I'm sorry," I conceded.

"Do you always have to attract these low life people?" Kuroko asked me in a very motherly tone.

"I'm a low life. Low lives attract other low lives," I responded.

"Shira-kun, that's not true," Kuroko said.

I let out a sarcastic laugh, "And who am I supposed to end up with? Someone like him?" I asked looking at Kise, "It's better when I'm with someone I can't hurt."

"You hurt Stabby-kun," Kuroko said.

I groaned, "You're right, I should just stay alone and become a bitter old lady."

Kuroko smiled, "Even Haizaki-kun found Sakura-kun."

"Excuse you, he did not find her. I brought that wonderfulness into his life," I said.

"Maybe Haizaki-kun will do the same for you" Kuroko said smiling.

I snorted, "Yeah, and Murasakibara will go on a diet."

"Where are you going?" Kuroko asked me as I left the gym.

"I have to go get ready for my hot date," I replied.

* * *

I grabbed my sweater and looked at my phone; Aomine would be here soon. True to his word, he had texted me as soon as his practice was over and insisted we go out on a date tonight. He had told me to dress casual, so I was dressed in my usual pair of black skinny jeans and a t-shirt. I heard a knock on the door and I opened it to reveal an equally casually dressed Aomine who half smiled at me, "So cinnamon tan, where are we going this evening?" I asked him.

He grinned wider and held out a blindfold, "Kinky," I teased.

He laughed, "It's a secret."

"Fine, you're lucky I'm unusually nice on a first date," I said as he wrapped the piece of cloth around my head.

He tried to guide me to the best of his ability, but by the time we got out of the elevator I heard him go, "Fuck this, this is stupid," before I felt him pick me up and carry me to a car, which I assumed was a taxi.

The car came to a halt after about twenty minutes and Aomine once again picked me up and carried me a little ways before putting me down again. "Ready?" he asked me.

"As I'll ever be," I replied sarcastically.

"Shut up," he said and removed the blindfold.

As soon as I was able to see what was in front of me, my eyes went wide and my jaw opened slightly, "You like it?" I heard Aomine ask.

"...Edo Museum.." I mumbled.

Aomine chuckled, "Junichi said you'd like it."

I turned to him, "Like it? I've been trying to find the time to come here since I moved here, but I could never get the time off work…" I spun off, looking at the building in front of me.

Aomine took my hand in his, "Ready?" he asked me.

"Okay…" I said a little mindlessly as Aomine led me inside.

The Tokyo Edo Museum was awesome for lack of a better word. Inside the deceivingly modern outer structure, were detailed exhibits made to portray life in Japan from the Edo period to the present. Most of the time we spent there I was wandering around awestruck while Aomine laughed at me and called me a nerd. After two hours though, my physical needs caught up with me. I turned to Aomine, "You know Daiki, you said to dress casual and I dressed like I normally do, but-"

"Those stupid ass heels have demolished whatever's left of your feet," Aomine finished for me.

"Yeah," I sighed.

"Take them off," he said.

"I can't just wander around the Tokyo Edo Museum barefoot," I said.

"I'm not saying that, take your shoes off and get on," Aomine said, offering up his back.

I took my shoes off, "Heh, you're short without those heels," Aomine laughed.

"Shut up Ahomine," I said getting on his back.

"Oi, don't call me that," he said, walking towards another exhibit.

"Daiki, look at the figurines," I said.

"I see them," he said.

I pawed at his hair, "But look at the detail."

"Mhmm," Aomine said unenthusiastically.

"Thheeee deeettaaaill," I screeched.

"On that note, I think we better get out of here before you turn into a puddle," Aomine said laughing.

He carried me out of the museum and continued walking, "Shouldn't we catch a taxi?" I asked.

"Nah, it's nice outside tonight, I feel like walking," he said.

"Okay," I said resting my head on his shoulder.

"You seem to be making yourself comfortable," Aomine smirked.

"Let's just say this situation isn't completely foreign to me," I said.

"You make guys carry you and your sore feet often?" Aomine asked.

"Let's see, there was that time Kise had to carry me home from the festival, Nakamura had to carry me to Maji Burger, the hundreds of times Shougo has done it over the years, and the many times Shouichi did it for me while we were dating," I responded.

"You ever think during one of those piggyback rides, that you should start wearing better shoes?" Aomine asked.

"I considered it, but I'm a short man in a tall man's world," I said.

"You're a girl," Aomine said.

"Yes, but on the inside I am a ninety three year old man who's done with everything and everyone," I said.

Aomine laughed, "That's...interesting."

"We're at my building, you can let me off," I said.

"I'll walk you up," Aomine said getting into the elevator.

He pressed the first button, "Daiki," I said.

"Hmm?" he asked.

"That's not my floor, that's the roof," I said.

"I know," he replied.

He let me down once the doors opened, "I can see the stars," I pointed out.

"Yeah, up high is the only place you can see them in the city," Aomine said.

I walked over and leaned against the wall of the roof, "This is probably the first time I've seen them since I moved here from Kanagawa."

Aomine joined me, "I thought as much."

I turned to him, "So, any particular reason why you succumbed to peer pressure and asked me out on a date?"

"Love," Aomine answered.

I laughed, "The Aomine Daiki? Afflicted by love?"

"Yeah," he said.

"So, who's the lucky lady?" I asked.

"Why are you so sure it isn't you?" Aomine asked playfully.

I smiled softly, "Because you're not stupid. You wouldn't let yourself get hung up on me when you know how much I'm still holding out for Kise; however a fruitless endeavor that might be."

Aomine sighed, "It's sorta like, you have two friends, and you love this girl who you feel like you're way closer to than the guy she's in love with, but you know they belong together. Like, they fit so well together and all they need is one push to connect, and you know that you'll never be anything more than one of her best friends."

"That's tough," I commented.

Aomine smiled at me, "I know."

I gave his shoulder a light slap, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think Momoi has no idea what she's missing."

Aomine gave me a blank look, "What?"

"Don't try and fool me Daiki. Best friend? The guy she's in love with is your friend too? You're obviously in love with Momoi even though she loves Kuroko," I said.

"She's exactly your type too," I observed.

"And you're both earth signs, so you're compatible, more compatible than her and Kuroko," I added.

Aomine was still looking at me blankly with his mouth open, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," I said, "Although I do hope she realizes one day that you've been there for her all this time."

Aomine chuckled, "Yeah...yeah…"

"It's getting cold outside," I said.

"We should go," Aomine said getting into the elevator.

"We're going to my floor right? Or are you gonna take me to the basement next?" I teased him.

"Don't tempt me," Aomine shot back.

I laughed as we got to my apartment, "Well, it's too late now."

"Hey Shira," Aomine said.

"Yeah Daiki?" I said looking at him.

He lightly pushed me against my door, bent down, and kissed me. I was surprised, but I didn't pull away. I felt him smirk as he pulled away from me, "I'll call ya," he said as he walked away.

I walked into my apartment slightly confused, but my befuddlement was cut by the ringing of my cellphone, "Hello?" I said picking it up.

"Shira-kun," I heard on the other line.

"Sweet panda," I said.

"How did your's and Aomine-kun's date go?" he asked.

"It went well, and I promised him I wouldn't say anything, but I think Daiki is dealing with some serious denial issues," I said.

"Denial issues?" Kuroko asked.

"Mhmm," I said.

"What happened?" Kuroko asked.

"He kissed me," I said.

"Is that a bad thing?" Kuroko asked.

"When he's actually in love with Momoi, yes," I said.

"Aomine-kun's in love with Momoi?" Kuroko questioned.

"He didn't outright say it, but he hinted at it pretty strongly," I said.

"That doesn't seem likely," Kuroko said.

"Karma," I scowled as I walked into my kitchen.

"Yes Shira-kun, I suppose it could be karma for you using Stabby-kun to be in denial about Kise-kun. Now maybe fate has assigned you as the person to help Aomine-kun through his denial, but I would consult Midorima-kun about such things," I heard Kuroko say.

"Hn, that's a really good point. Especially when I was just yelling at the cat because she peed in the kitchen," I said.

"You're a special kind of person," Kuroko said.

"Don't you take that sarcastic tone with me young man," I scolded him.

"Sorry Shira-kun."

* * *

Hey there! A big thank you to all the people that read/favorite/follow this story, especially the ones that leave reviews that warm my little author heart. To **A**

**Sparkly Penguin**, I'm glad you liked the chapter and that you noticed that line because I laughed too hard when I wrote it (and it's not even that funny compared to

the Kise Sr. line).


	34. Chapter 34

In my 20 years on this earth, one question about my life remains unanswered. Why is it always basketball? Eight years ago it had been because my best friend was on the basketball team, two years ago it had been because I sucked at history, and now it was because I taught history. It was the morning after my date with Aomine, and I had just finished teaching my first class of the day and was about to leave the lecture hall when I got a surprise visit from Tansai sensei. I looked at him with a shocked expression, "Tansai, what brings you here so early? I thought you kept late hours."

"I need to speak to you about one of my players," he said.

"You should really talk to Seito sensei about that, he's the one who signs off on the final grades," I said clicking my pen.

"I'm asking you because this player is in the classes that you teach, and you also happen to be friends with him," he said.

"Who is it?" I asked.

Tansai ran his fingers through his hair, "If this was any other player I wouldn't care, but it's Kagami."

"I see, Kagami's a sweet guy, but he's never been that book smart," I said.

"This is the only class he's absolutely failing," Tansai said.

"Did you try getting him a tutor?" I asked.

Tansai clucked his tongue, "Everyone's booked up this close to midterms."

"I'll talk to Seito and see if I can work something out," I said.

"Thank you Shirahime," Tansai said, trudging out of the lecture hall.

I sighed and made my way back to the office, where only Seito was thank the gods up above. I wouldn't want anyone who knows me to see me kiss ass like I'm about to do, "Hey Seisei," I greeted him.

He smiled and looked up at me, "Hi Shishi."

"So, I have a favor to ask my wonderful sensei this morning," I said.

"What is it?" he asked me.

"Tansai came to me this morning," I said.

"Tantan? Came to you? Why?" Seito asked rapidly.

"One of his important players isn't doing well in the class," I said.

Seito frowned, "I can't pass him just so he'll play, I may be easygoing but you know better than to ask me that."

"I know, I'm not asking you to give him the grade," I said.

"Then what are you asking?" Seito said.

"With my infinite wisdom, I have come up with a solution that I think is fair," I said.

"What's that Shishi?" Seito asked.

"If we let him take the midterm a week in advance and he gets a passing score than he'll be able to play," I said.

"And it's not like he's getting an advantage over the other students, he only gets one week to study while everyone else has two," I added.

"Okay, I'll agree to it because Tansai asked, but you have to write another midterm so the player doesn't leak it, and another thing," he said with his eyes gleaming.

"What?" I asked warily.

"You have to relay this information to Tansai via intercom!" Seito said excitedly.

"You've got to be kidding me," I said.

"Nope, you better get going!" he said smiling at me.

"Sadist-sensei would never make me do anything like this, oh how I miss you my meatball shaped history teacher...your nephew's beyond sadistic...he's satan...satan-sensei...Sei-tan," I grumbled under my breath as I made my way to the administrative office.

"Seito sensei asked me to make an announcement," I said to a lady with her hair in the tightest bun I've ever seen.

She handed me the phone, "Whenever you're ready."

I put my mouth to the phone and said, "Attention Tansai sensei, this is an announcement to let you know that I am a glorious person who has come up with a solution that is Seito approved. I'll be by the gym this afternoon to fill you in on the details."

"Tell him I love him," I heard someone whisper in my ear.

I turned to the person, "If you were gonna follow me, you should've just done it yourself."

"Just do it," Seito whined and waved his hands at me.

I sighed, "Seisei loves Tantan."

I then handed the phone back to the office lady and turned back to a sparkling Seito, "Shishi, you're such a good assistant," he said ruffling my hair.

"Here, have this as a reward," he said giving me a piece of candy he grabbed from the bowl on the counter.

"Don't give away candy that isn't yours," I grumbled as he twirled away from me.

The rest of my day passed by smoothly, and before I knew it I was making my way to the gym once again. "SHIRAHIME!" Tansai shouted once he saw me.

"TANTAN!" I yelled back.

Tansai's face immediately turned red and I couldn't decide whether it was due to the embarrassment of the nickname, or the fact that no one had probably ever yelled back at him before. He coughed, "So, what did you come up with?" he asked me.

"He's gonna take the midterm a week early," I said.

"You think he's ready for that?" Tansai asked.

I snorted, "Hell no, but I cleared some of my schedule to tutor him for the next week."

"Thanks," Tansai said.

"Don't worry about it," I said walking onto the court.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Tansai asked me.

"The only time I could clear just so happens to be the time you guys practice," I answered.

"Don't worry, American Pie's a good boy. He'll practice on his off time," I said in response to Tansai's growl.

I went over to Kagami, who was practicing layups on the other side of the court, "Hey sweetness," I said.

"Hi Shira sensei," Kagami said, "What are you doing here?"

I waved my hand, "Drop the sensei, and I'm here to tutor you for your midterm this week."

"I thought that was next week?" Kagami asked.

"Not for you; you need to play this game and a passing grade on the midterm is the only option of getting your grade up," I explained.

"Oh," Kagami said in an embarrassed manner.

"So go change," I said.

Kagami nodded and jogged off to the locker rooms. Tansai walked up to me, "While I understand he has to miss practice to get his grades up, I insist that you tutor him in the gym."

"What difference does that make?" I asked.

"At least this way he'll hear me yell and hopefully soak up the corrections like a red sponge," Tansai said passionately.

"You're weird," I said to him, "But who am I to deny your weirdness?"

And that was how Kagami and I ended up on the stands, with him trying to learn and me trying to teach through Tansai's shouting. The first day was good, it was just Kagami and I with no one to interrupt us. "You know," he said suddenly, "It's not your fault I suck at this."

"I know, I'm a wonderful teacher," I teased.

Kagami gave me a halfhearted laugh, "Seriously though, don't worry about it. I sucked at history 11 out of my 14 years of school, and not everyone can be good at everything. I couldn't shoot a ball into a basket if my life depended on it," I said.

Kagami gave me a warm smile, "Here, focus on this reading," I said handing him a worksheet and going back to the book in my lap.

"What's that?" Kagami asked.

"My sociology textbook, I have midterms too ya know?" I answered him.

"Oh right! Sometimes I forget you're a student too," Kagami said in a flustered tone.

"That's okay, I am your teacher after all, I practically live on this campus, and you're a first year and I'm a third year in completely different fields of study, so I don't think we share any professors," I said.

"Yeah, but you're a really good teacher Shira, you explain things really clearly," Kagami said.

"You're so sweet," I said pinching his cheek.

The second session was mostly the same, except Kise was practicing at the same time and kept trying to inch his way towards us in an attempt to see what we were doing. At one point he crept up to us and asked, "Kagamicchi, what are you doing?"

"Uh, trying to learn history?" Kagami answered.

Kise hummed and turned back to the court, "That's the first time he's talked to me in two weeks," Kagami commented.

"Really? That doesn't seem like him," I said.

"Yeah, he hasn't been acting or playing like himself," Kagami muttered.

I furrowed my brow while I questioned myself if I was the reason Kise was acting this way. Probably. "Maybe it's first game jitters," Kagami suggested.

"Maybe," I grumbled.

Our third and final session was the most uncomfortable and irritating. Both Aomine and Kise were practicing and every ten minutes or so Aomine would shout, "Shira!" from the court and just smirk and walk away when I looked at him. "What is he doing?" Kagami asked.

"I have no idea," I said.

"How did your date with him go by the way?" he asked.

"Fine," I mumbled.

Apparently, Kise was just as annoyed with what Aomine was doing as I was, because he kept missing his shots and refusing to pass to Aomine. The real shit went down when Kagami and I were done with his tutoring and we both returned to the court. Aomine slung his arm around my waist and pulled me towards him. I shot him a look of confusion before looking at Kise, who had a basketball in a death grip while he glared at Aomine. "So babe, you wanna go out tonight?" Aomine asked me as he pulled me tighter and his hand came dangerously close to my butt.

"Ummmm..." I said looking at Kise, who was seething, "I need to talk to you," I responded, pulling Aomine outside the gym.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked him.

"What?" he asked.

"What is with the touchy feely bullshit and the "'babe"'? We went out once Daiki, that doesn't make me your girlfriend," I said.

Aomine smiled, "I know that idiot," he said flicking my head, "I'm trying to make Kise jealous."

"Why?" I asked rubbing my forehead.

"Because I and everyone else around who's been paying any attention to what's going on around here, are sick and tired of watching you two deny that you have feelings for each other," Aomine said.

"Don't you think that's something we should work out by ourselves?" I asked.

"You guys haven't for two years, I thought it was a good time to step in," Aomine said, "And I think it worked."

"Whatever," I scoffed at him, "Anyway, I have to ask you a favor."

"What?" Aomine asked.

"You live relatively close to Kagami right?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said.

"He's taking a really important test tomorrow in history, do you think you could help him study tonight?" I asked.

Aomine took a moment to mull it over, "You are aware that Kagami is a great cook? Going over there means a delicious, huge, free meal," I said to him.

"I'll do it," Aomine said quickly.

"Thanks Daidai," I teased him.

* * *

The day of Tokyo University's first basketball game, Kagami was cleared to play because he obviously passed with great instructors like Aomine and I. Seito had given me and Junichi the night off, so we headed to the basketball court and met up with Kuroko, Momoi, Sakura, and Shougo. "How are things with you and Dai-chan?" Momoi immediately asked me, "He won't tell me anything."  
"Aomine?" Sakura asked.

"We went on a date," I explained.

"He punched me in the face that one time. I approve," Shougo said.

"Shougo-kun, I think you need better standards," Kuroko said.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"What?" Shougo said defensively, "You need someone who can protect you, I got my girl now, I can't be there all the time."

"I can protect myself," I said.

"Aomine-kun is a step up from Stabby-kun," Kuroko said.

"Stabby?" Shougo questioned.

"Zami," I explained.

Shougo screwed up his face in disgust, " I hate that guy."

"I am aware," I said.

"But you and Dai-chan-" Momoi started excitedly.

"Are just friends," I finished for her.

Her face fell, "Oh, all right then."

"We should go, the games starting soon," Kuroko said.

"Did you save us some good seats?" I asked Kuroko.

"How could I have done that Shira-kun? I've been with you this whole time," Kuroko said.

"I still retain my belief that you can be in two places at once," I responded.

"Shira-kun, that is ridiculous, and yes I did save us good seats," Kuroko replied.

The stands were packed, and everyone was excited as they should be. I mean after all, it's Kagami, Kise, and Aomine playing. Together. Unfortunately, the game progressed at a dead tie with the other team due to the way Kise was acting. He was playing like I had seen him play in practice these past weeks; he wasn't passing the ball to his teammates and he was distracted. "He's playing the way he did at Teiko," I heard Momoi comment.

Right before halftime I got fed up with watching the game and went to go get something to drink. As I went through the motions of lighting a cigarette and pressing a button on the vending machine, I heard the players come through the tunnel and towards the locker rooms. Although, it was nearly impossible not to hear Kagami if you were in that hallway. I looked at where the noise was coming from and saw Kagami had Kise pressed up against a wall, "What the hell are you doing Kise!" he screamed at him.

Kise just scoffed and turned away, "You're not even gonna say anything!" Kagami shouted.

Aomine came up behind Kagami, "Just leave it," he said grabbing his shoulder.

Kagami grunted angrily before letting go of Kise's jersey and walking off with Aomine. I quietly walked over to a contentious Kise, slightly fearing that he wouldn't receive me that well. I leaned up against the wall causing our shoulders to touch. I didn't say anything, and it was silent except for the sound of me breathing and blowing out smoke. "You think I'm gonna cause everyone to lose right?" Kise spoke up in a low voice.

I took a long drag of my cigarette and said as I blew out, "It's still tied, plus, how can you lose?"

He looked up at me slowly with a questioning gaze, "You have our lucky earring," I said touching the blue steel earring attached to his ear.

Kise's eyes widened before his lips broke out into a wide smile, "That's right, I almost forgot."

I put out my cigarette, "That's why I had to remind you."

"Shiracchi," Kise said.

"Hmm?" I asked.

"You forgot one thing," he said.

"What?" I asked.

"The earring only works with a good luck kiss," Kise said before he bent down and planted a soft kiss on my cheek.

"Bye Shiracchi! Make sure to watch me okay?" Kise said cheerfully as he ran to the locker room.

I covered my mouth with my hand as my cheeks burned, "Well, well, well, look what we have here," I heard a voice say.

I looked over to see Sakura, "I don't want to be with Kise," she imitated me and then returned to her regular voice, "But here you are, blushing like a schoolgirl when he gives you a kiss on the cheek."

"Shut up," I said pulling her away.

When I got back to my seat, I was met with a sight that made me want to cringe. "Shishi!" Seito beckoned me towards him.

I sat down, "Hi sensei."

"Do you like my pompoms?" he asked.

"They're...poofy," I said poking one of them.

"What about my banner?" he asked excitedly.

I looked down at a navy blue banner that had the words, "I love Daidai" in red. I then looked up at Seito, "I don't know you," I said and turned away.

I had to put up with his whining the rest of the game, but I was too happy that Kise seemed to be back to himself to be annoyed by him. This sudden change in Kise's behaviour led me to believe that either A. I had been the cause of his mood change in the first place, B. Been the fix to his attitude, or C. both. Either way, it led me to consider what place I had in Kise's life.

With Kise cooperating, Tokyo won easily. I was walking back from the court with Sakura when I had a revelation, "Hey Sakura."

She looked back at me, "Yeah?"

"I sorta figured things out about Kise," I said.

She went bugged eyed, "Really? Are you going to confess?"

"Hell no," I said.

"Then what?" she asked.

"I just decided that even if it's not anything romantic, I don't want Kise to be upset because of me, so I think I'm okay with just being friends," I said.

Sakura frowned, "Okay then, but I still think you should just go up to him and kiss him."

* * *

Hey there! I wanted to thank everyone who reads/favorites/follows and especially the people that review. Before I reply to the reviews I wanted to let everyone

know there won't be a chapter this Sunday because I'll be at Anime Expo till the fifth. To **A Sparkly Penguin**, all I'm going to say is keep your confusion because

something was not as it seems last chapter and Kise's is slowly getting his act together. To **Guest**, yes poor Aomine indeed; if Kise wasn't in the picture I'd totally

ship them too. To **Xrupa**, I would be there with you patting Aomine's head, he is a poor child in this fic. To **ThatOneHeffalumpInTheCorner**, I'm not going to

say anything because there's a scene in the future of this fanfic that explains things, but all I'm going to just allude that Shira was being very oblivious in this chapter.

To **WaffleeLi**, you might be on to something. I would suggest looking at Aomine's reaction when Shira said he was in love with Momoi to confirm/deny your

suspicion.


	35. Chapter 35

"Shiracchi."

"Shira senpai."

"Shiracchi."

"Shira senpai."

I opened my eyes slowly and saw bright yellow and pastel pink, "Too many happy colors," I groaned and turned over.

"Shiracchi's just as hard to wake up now as she was back then," I heard Kise giggle.

Upon hearing his voice, I immediately shoved myself into the smallest corner of my bed, but it was to no avail because not a second later I felt Kise's hand wrap around my waist and pull me away from bed-chan. As Kise pulled me onto his lap, I looked up to see a devilish grin on his face, "Kise no," I managed to get out before he started applying pressure to my sides and I started giggling uncontrollably.

"Don't...judge...me...tickles," I managed to say to Sakura in between laughs.

"Kise, you might want to stop so we can talk to Shira what we came here about," Sakura said pulling out her phone and taking a picture, "But worry not, this moment will live on forever."

"I hate you both," I said as I tried to wriggle away from Kise, who seemed dead set on keeping me in his lap.

"Shiracchi don't be mean, I brought food~" Kise sang as he dangled a fast food bag in front of me.

I snatched the bag and settled into Kise's lap, "Do you two mind telling me how you got into my apartment into the first place?" I asked as I started to comb through the contents of the bag.

Sakura smiled, "Your building's superintendent happens to be a big Kise Ryouta fan."

"One autograph and picture was all it took to get us in-ssu" Kise said happily.

"I fear for my safety," I grumbled.

Kise laughed and nuzzled his face against the back of my neck, "C'mon Shiracchi, I brought youuuu fooood~"

"Fine, you're forgiven," I said munching on a breakfast sandwich, "So, why're you guys here?"

"All three of us have to go to the school," Sakura said.

"Why?" I asked.

Sakura giggled, "I don't know yet."

"Seito sensei said we were going on a mission," Kise added in.

"I don't like the sound of this," I said grumpily.

"Shiracchi, don't be like that," Kise whined.

"Alright, I'll get ready and we can go," I said getting up from Kise's lap and headed into my room.

After I undressed I started searching high and low in my messy room for a bra. I grabbed one that I saw sticking out from underneath my bed and then cursed myself when I saw the wire was sticking out, "Damn, and this was my favorite one too…" I mumbled.

"Shiracchi? What's taking so long?" I heard Kise's voice ask as he opened my door.

I turned to him in my mostly naked glory and watched as his mouth dropped and he turned a brilliant shade of red before he booked it out of my room. I cocked my head in confusion before realizing the only thing I was wearing was underwear and then proceeded to chuckle and say to myself, "Still so innocent."

When I finally found a suitable bra and get fully dressed, I walked into my living room and was immediately confronted by Sakura, "What did you do to Kise?" she asked me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He just ran out of your room and out the front door without saying a word," Sakura explained.

I laughed and pushed her out the door, "Don't worry about it."

Kise was waiting for us at the front of my building, "L-et's g-o," he stuttered and tried his best to look away from me.

I grinned widely and grabbed his hand, "Come on now blondie, we're all adults here. A little nudity isn't going to kill you."

"Nudity? Shira senpai, were you trying to seduce Kise, because we don't have time for that right now," Sakura asked.

"SHE DIDN'T TRY AND SEDUCE ME!" Kise spouted out quickly.

I placed my hand on my hip, "Trust me, if I was trying to seduce him he would be in my bed naked right now, not shouting in the middle of the street."

"Shiracchi, you're making it worse," Kise whined as he rubbed his head against my arm.

I looked down at him, "Is this really necessary? Do you realize how far you have to bend down to nuzzle my arm, you fucking tree?"

Kise frowned at me and then dropped to the ground, wrapping his legs and arms around me and nuzzling my stomach. "Never underestimate my clinginess," he hissed at me and then continued rubbing his face against my shirt.

"Don't look at me with that satisfied face," I snapped at Sakura.

* * *

When we got to the office, Seito, Tansai, and the director of Fine Arts were waiting for us. "Shishi!" Seito greeted me cheerfully.

"DON'T BE SO LOUD!" Tansai shouted.

"YOU'RE BEING LOUD!" I shouted at him.

"Why are you yelling?" Sakura asked me.

"I'm establishing my dominance," I answered her.

Sakura laughed as I asked in a tired tone, "So, you guys mind telling us while we're here?"

"Certainly," Seito said with a smile, "Each year, the university sends a group of students to well known high schools to speak to the students about trying to earn a place here, and you're this year's group!"

"Really?" Kise asked with stars in his eyes.

"Really," Seito confirmed as Tansai nodded, "You three are perfect for luring in the best students to our school. Kiki, girls will flock to this school in hopes of actually seeing you around campus and young athletic boys will flood the gyms for the chance to train with the infamous copycat and ace of all sports! Sasa, you're cuteness knows no bounds and will give the impression that our school is full of cute coeds with a deep artistic sense, and Shishi-"

"Who had the impression I was the most personable person in the history department?" I cut in.

"Me," Seito answered.

I gave him an apathetic look, "I could be sleeping right now."

"Nooo! Shishi, you have the most important part!" Seito said waving his hands.

"And that is?" I asked uninterested.

Seito twirled and stuck his hand in the air, "You are the cool and mature senpai with a rough and tough attitude. "I want to see what she's really like," "What's underneath that hard exterior?" "I feel so safe with her," "I want her to share her heart with only me," "Will I ever be good enough so senpai will notice me?" they'll say, and then they'll follow your elusive trail of cigarette smoke right to the history department!" Seito finished with a flourish.

"I know that's why I came here," Sakura said and put her hand to her chest.

"I'm in hell," I said.

"It's not that bad Shiracchi," Kise smiled at me.

"Mhmm," I said unconvinced and turned my attention back to Seito, "And what does this entail exactly?"

"The first three schools you'll be visiting are in Tokyo, and then after that there will be three more schools in Kanagawa, Kyoto, and Akita," Seito explained.

"Pay?" I asked.

"A week's worth of work," he said.

"I'll do it," I said.

"I'm so happy, it's been years since I've been on a trip with Shiracchi," Kise said wistfully.

"When does this start?" I asked.

"Today," Seito answered.

Our first stop was Seirin. It had become quite the hub for basketball after they defeated Rakuzan at the winter cup and now had a plethora of valuable players in their sports program. Things went along pretty normally, we popped into the classrooms and each spoke about how much we loved being a student at Tokyo University. We were greeted with a surprise however, when we walked into the gym to talk to the basketball team. "Riko?" I questioned the short girl saw in the middle of the room.

"Shira," Riko said back at me.

"You're still here?" I asked.

"Of course, I'm still Seirin's coach," she said.

"I'm just gonna hang back with you," I said.

"Nooo, Shiracchi, come up with me," Kise whined.

"Kise, I know nothing about basketball," I said.

"Weren't you Kaijo's manager for a year?" Riko asked.

"Yeah, doesn't mean I listened to anything," I said.

Riko laughed as she watched Kise slump away, "He's so attached to you still, I guess things haven't changed between you two."

I looked down and gave her a smile, "Yeah."

Our second stop was Shuutoku, who had continued to be they great Kings of the East even after Midorima's transition into college. The trip was uneventful except for the basketball coach overhearing me comment on how the color of their uniforms was hideous and then glared at me the entire time we were there.

Touou was our last stop in Tokyo and was the most enjoyable one for me. I was already used to the campus and the basketball coach because of the amount of times I had visited Imayoshi and Aomine respectively over the years. "No matter how many times I come here, I never get over how greasy Katsunori sensei's hair is," I said walking into the gym.

Sakura elbowed me in the stomach, "That's rude," she said.

"I think him and I are close enough for me to recommend a good shampoo without it being weird," I said.

"No," Kise and Sakura said in unison.

"He makes it ten times worse when he pulls and fidgets with it too," I said as I observed him pull on a piece of his hair, "It brings attention to it."

"Please don't say anything," Sakura pleaded with me.

"I won't," I mumbled and wandered over to the gym wall, where team pictures and trophies were displayed.

"Shira," I heard behind me.

"Katt-chan," I said turning towards the coach with a smile.

"First name basis? I didn't realize you two were so chummy," Kise said, glaring at Katsunori.

"Yeah, Shira was always here for Imayoshi and Aomine," Katsunori said nervously and fiddled with his hair.

Kise's head snapped back to me and his eyes zeroed in on a team picture with Imayoshi in the center, "Is that what you were looking at?" Kise said and narrowed his eyes.

"I wasn't looking at anything in particular," I said nonchalantly.

Kise kept my gaze for a couple of seconds and then walked over to the middle of the gym and began speaking to the players. "Did I do something to piss him off?" Katsunori asked Sakura and I.

"No, Kise can just be a bit of a yandere sometimes," Sakura said pulling me away by the wrist.

"Shira senpai!" a couple of the second and third years who I had gotten to know when I visited Aomine shouted after they saw me.

"Hey," I said giving each of them a small hug.

"Shiracchi," Kise whined.

"What?" I asked.

He pouted, "Pay attention to me."

I laughed, "Senpai, how do you know Kise senpai?" one of the boys asked.

"Shiracchi was my manager in high school," Kise answered.

The boy's eyes widened, "Really? I never got the impression you were into basketball senpai."

"I'm not," I said as I took a cigarette from behind my ear and lit it, "It was a punishment."

The boy laughed, "So how's Aomine senpai, Momoi senpai said that you got him a job."

"He is just the best and hardest working personal assistant I've ever had the pleasure of working with," I said in a sarcastic tone.

The boy laughed harder, "I bet he escapes to the roof a lot."

I blew smoke out of my mouth as I chuckled, "I lied to him and said we didn't have one."

"That's mean senpai," the boy said.

"That's not mean, you know what's mean?" Kise interjected.

"What?" I asked.

"Ignoring me," Kise whined.

I sighed, "I get it, I get it, come along blondie," I said pulling him back to the front of the group.

* * *

Hey there! I'm super sorry for the short chapter, but I'm currently battling a bad cold and tried my darndest to get a chapter in for you guys, especially since I didn't

get one to you on Sunday due to Anime Expo. I hope that what it lacks in length, it makes up for in KisexShira fluff and a jealous Kise. As always, I'm grateful

for the people that read/follow/favorite this story and especially to those who leave reviews. To **Amaterasu**, this will definitely be a "there's only three chapters left

and nothing's resolved fic" but hopefully you can glue yourself back together in the last two chapters. To **Xrupa**, Seito is such a special child, and I like to think that

Aomine gave him the silent treatment for a good week or two after the game and it absolutely killed him (not enough for him to throw out out the pompoms of

course). To **amy1945**, the highest of the highest props to you for marathoning One Piece, if I did that I'd be dead. And I too feel for Daidai, but the KisexShira's

gonna hit you so hard in the next couple of chapters, you won't even have to worry about Aomine, although I really did give him a raw deal in this fic. To

**ThatOneHeffalumpInTheCorner**, I completely understand how you could miss Aomine's cluelessness, because it's written from Shira's point of view, and she was

being quite the typical dense shojo manga girl at that time. And Seito is totally bae, no matter how annoying I try and write him, he always turns into this adorable

muffin of a child. To **WaffleeLi**, all I'm gonna say is trust your instincts and I shall elaborate in a couple of chapter in regards to Aomine's feelings towards Shira, and

I don't care what anyone says, senpais live to notice people, so _thank you_ for taking the time to give your input because it's really appreciated. And I was totally

going to wait until the last chapter to shamelessly promote this, but, I am working on an AominexMaleOC fic that I plan to post the same day as this fic ends, so

if you're interested in that, that might be a thing to look forward to ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯. To **Guest**, I just update, so I hope you didn't already die, and thank you so much for

your kind words, it gives me a lot of confidence and encouragement to keep writing knowing that you enjoy this story that much. To **Joyful Symphony**, I would say t

that right now Kise's head is like halfway out of his ass and it'll probably be all the way out in two chapters, and I'm really glad you like the drama.


	36. Chapter 36

"So Shiracchi, are you excited?" Kise questioned me as his chest pressed against my face for the upteenth time in the hour.

"Ask me that when we're not in an overcrowded train, I can't even think straight I'm so annoyed," I said grumpily.

"That's not a good attitude on a day as important as today," Kise whined.

"Who's bright idea was it to have us head out to Kanagawa during rush hour?" I asked, ignoring him.

"Seito's," Sakura said beside me.

I scoffed, "Figures, that man has no sense of reality."

"On this I have to agree," Sakura squeaked as she almost got knocked down by someone pushing past her, "What's our schedule again?"

"Today we'll visit Kaijo, stay the night in Kanagawa, and head to Kyoto tomorrow," I answered her.

"OH MY GOD! KISE-KUN? IS THAT REALLY YOU?!" I heard a voice squeal.

Both Sakura and I looked over to the girl, and watched as Kise conversed lightly and gave her an autograph, "Jealous?" Sakura smirked at me.

"Yeah," I said.

Sakura's eyes widened, "Really?" she asked me.

I nodded, "She gets this really fake, nice, polite, calm Kise. If only I had that, and then she could deal with the whiny brat he really is," I scowled.

Sakura chuckled lightly, "I think your personality perpetuates that in Kise even more."

I sighed, "Don't say such depressing things, if that's true then there's no escape."

"I INSIST!" the girl practically screamed.

Kise chuckled nervously, "I really couldn't."

The girl smiled and blushed, "No, I'm getting off on this stop, so I have to get up anyway."

She then proceeded to stand up and motion towards Kise to sit as she walked away. Kise sat down with a reluctant look on his face that was immediately extinguished when he turned towards me with with a smile and patted his leg, "Shiracchi-"

"No," I said quickly.

"Shiracchi," Kise began to whine.

"Have Sakura sit on your lap, she's smaller and lighter," I said.

"But I want you to sit on my lap-ssu," Kise pouted while he wriggled around in his seat, much to the chagrin of those sitting around him.

"Fine, just stop making such a scene," I said grumpily and sat on his lap.

"We go from largest to smallest," Sakura said as she sat on my lap.

Kise rested his chin in the crook of my neck, "And Shiracchi's the perfect size isn't she? Like the filling between two cookies…"

"Has the soul of MurkySaladBanana replaced your's?" I asked.

"What?" Kise asked.

"You just called me cookie filling," I said.

Sakura laughed, "I meant it as a compliment, most people like the filling way better than the cookie! Some people only eat the filling!" Kise said defensively.

Sakura laughed harder, "Kise Ryota, basketball superstar and famous model, can't muster up a compliment better than that?"

I would've laughed harder if I wasn't too busy trying to keep my blushing in check. Due to my extensive map of Kise's behaviors and actions, I was aware that Kise was only smooth offhandedly, and when he was genuinely trying to get something across to someone he was revealed to be a confused five year old. Therefore, while Sakura was laughing, I was fully aware that Kise was making a concerted effort to say something nice to me.

Any bashfulness I was feeling went away as soon as I felt Kise's hands approach my waist, "Kise. If you even attempt to tickle me it is over. It is over for you. It is over for Sakura. It is over for everyone on this train." I said ominously.

Kise retracted his hands and laughed, "Sorry Shiracchi, it's just so tempting-ssu."

"The thought of killing you is also tempting, but you don't see me standing over you with a knife," I said.

"Because that would be wrong," Sakura said.

I looked down at her, "No, because there are too many witnesses right now."

Kise laughed, "Anyway-ssu, are you excited to be going back to Kaijo?" he asked.

"Of course," Sakura answered.

"I guess," I said.

"Shiracchi," Kise whined at me, "How can you not be excited to go back to your old high school."

"I only went there for a year remember? I spent most of my time at Fukuda," I answered, purposely omitting that the main reason I wasn't all that thrilled to be going back was because my last few months at Kaijo was spent in turmoil over my issue with Kise.

Kise rested his chin on my head, "I suppose that's true," he mumbled.

"This is our stop," Sakura said as the train came to a halt.

"I told Seito to forgo the hotels in Kanagawa and Akita and just pay us more," I said as we got off the train.

"Are we staying at your place?" Kise asked me.

I nodded, "You should visit your parents while we're here blondie," I said to him.

"I haven't been gone long enough for them to miss me," Kise pouted.

I chuckled, "Bullshit, you're their youngest. They probably still dust your room every week in hopes you'll come back."

"Hey Shiracchi, if we're going that way, do you want to stop by the ice cream shop?" Kise asked.

"There's an ice cream shop around here?" Sakura asked.

Kise nodded energetically, "Right by the station, Shiracchi and I went there one time."

I sighed, "It's nine o'clock in the morning, but what the hell."

When we reached the shop, Kise ordered vanilla, Sakura had strawberry, and I was caught up in the dilemma I had every time someone asked me to pick a flavor of ice cream. I had read each flavor and it's description carefully, narrowed it down to ten flavors, but was stuck on which to choose. As my hands began to go numb from the cold glass they were resting on, I heard Kise chuckle, "I see Shiracchi is as indecisive about her ice cream as ever."

"I don't see what the problem is, just pick a flavor," Sakura said.

I glared at her, "You can't just _pick_ a flavor."

"Now now," Kise said ushering us outside, "I'll pick a flavor that you love and be right out, k?" he said with a wink.

He came back with this vanilla, caramel, and nut concoction that I gave a tentative lick. "So, do you like it?" Sakura asked as we walked to my house.

"I...like caramel," I said turning my face away.

Kise laughed, "See? I know what Shiracchi likes!"

"Shut up, we're here," I said as we approached my house.

I walked up the steps and unlocked the door, "Wow, it's so quiet in here," Kise observed.

"Yep," I hummed in agreement, "My parents don't really have to be home that much since I've moved out, so they're rarely home."

"Do they travel together?" Sakura asked.

"Sometimes, they usually like to meet up in these exotic locations and then spend time together, my dad says it's the secret to their marriage," I answered.

"That sounds nice," Kise commented.

I shrugged, "I never really understood it, I'm the type of person who would want to be around the person I love all the time."

"What's the secret though? I'm not getting it," Sakura questioned me.

I cocked my head and sighed, "My dad once explained it like this to me, "'Shi-honey, your mother is a bird. A violent bird. She needs to fly free to be happy. I am her nest, when she gets tired of flapping around the world then she comes home to me."'

"Your dad's great at analogies," Sakura said sarcastically.

I snorted, "I know right, he should write a book."

"What time are we supposed to be at Kaijo?" Kise asked suddenly.

I looked at my cellphone, "Hmm...about fifteen minutes ago?" I said.

We looked at each other, "Our train came in late," we said in unison.

"If I ever rob a bank I'm picking you two as my partners in crime if we can get our story straight that easily," I said as we sped out the door.

"Oooh, what will or roles be?" Sakura asked.

"Easy," I said, "You'll be the cute decoy, I'll be the force, and Kise will be the safecracker."

"Why does Kise get to be the safecracker?" Sakura asked.

"Because of the copy thingamajig, we can just show him a couple Youtube videos and we'll be all set to go," I explained.

"That's for basketball," Kise said.

"Well, we won't know unless we try," I snapped.

Sakura laughed, "Senpai, we're here, could you please stop talking about criminal activity? We're here to encourage students to pursue an education."

"That may be what you're here for, I'm here for the paycheck," I said as we walked into the school.

The classroom to classroom thing was the same as always. Girls fangirled over Kise, guys flirted with Sakura and I, and I almost always got dragged into conversations with the long term suffering teachers. It was only until we got to the gym that things got a little more interesting and relaxing. After we clawed our way through Kise's fanclub, Kise was again immediately assaulted, but this time by over excited teenage boys who screamed for their ex captain. "He really did end up becoming captain huh?" I asked Sakura.

"He was the only first year who was a starter so he sort of won by default," Sakura said.

"That makes sens-" I started to say before I caught sight of something.

"Senpai?" Sakura questioned.

Something snapped inside me once I caught a glimpse of what lay beyond the throng of teenage boys huddled around Kise and I knew I had to push past them. I quickly maneuvered my way around the crowd and latched onto my target, wrapping my hands around him (or attempting to) and nearly crying in joy. "Shiracchi?" I heard Kise question me.

The room went relatively quiet and I heard the boy closest to Kise ask, "What's going on? Why is she hugging coach like that? I want an attractive girl to hug me like that. Was he handsome or something a couple years back?"

I looked up, "Sensei," I whimpered, "I missed you so much."

"Shiracchi," I felt a hand on my shoulder, "Are you okay?"

I looked at Kise, "No I'm not okay, he's horrible! I never knew I had it so good with sadist sensei, not until I had to work for...Satan! I can't go back to that!" I cried into Takeuchi sensei, who slapped me on the back and guffawed, "Hah, so you're still working under Seito! He's a hard one to handle, my nephew, I still remember when I had to babysit him when he was a child."

"I can relate," I deadpanned.

"Why don't you come cry on my shoulder," the boy next to Kise asked in an attempt to be smooth.

"Because she was _my _manager, not yours," Kise said quickly.

"Sorry kid," Sakura said to the boy, "Kise's got a monopoly on Shira."

"We should really just focus on the presentation," Kise said staley.

When we were done, I was reluctant to let go of Takeuchi-sensei, "I don't wanna," I pouted.

"Shira senpai, it's Kise and I's job to be the petulant children, you're our adult," Sakura said.

"I have an adult already," I said tugging on Takeuchi-sensei's arm.

"Come on Shiracchi," Kise said as he hoisted me up on his shoulder, "Bye bye sensei!" he shouted as we exited the gym.

"Don't be sad," Kise said as I hung limply, "Here," he said walking over to a vending machine and putting some coins in, "What do you want?" he asked, setting me down.

I threw myself onto the vending machine and proclaimed, "I want sensei."

"Sensei's not a drink," Kise said.

"Taking me away from him is a sin that shall not be forgiven," I said darkly.

"Shi?" I heard a voice say and it made my heart skip a beat.

As I slowly cast my gaze to the left of me I saw who I expected to see. No matter how much I wished I was just hearing things, my ears knew his voice far too well to be mistaken, "Haizaki," I said.

I could feel Sakura and Kise burn their questioning gazes into my back as Haizaki-nii looked at me with a mixture of confusion and sadness, "Can we talk for a minute?" he asked.

I removed myself from the vending machine and sighed, "Okay," I turned to Kise and Sakura, "You two should go on without me."

"Shiracchi," Kise started.

"Go, I'll be fine," I said.

They walked away, "Haizaki," I said.

"Shi, I'm sorry," he said.

"I figured," I said stonily.

"I understand that we won't be friends or anything, but I want to apologize to you for trying to force myself on you," he said.

"Then I forgive you," I said, "But we're not friends."

Haizaki-nii nodded, "So, you work at Kaijo?" I asked.

"Yeah, I teach here," he said.

"What made you chose Kanagawa?" I asked.

Haizaki-nii smiled softly, "I don't know; I think maybe I took this job in hopes that I'd see you again, so I could make things right."

"I understand that feeling," I said.

He sighed, "That sort of ends our obligatory small talk doesn't it? Goodbye Shi."

"Bye Haizaki," I said and walked away towards my house.

As I got onto the main road, I was surprised to see Kise waiting for me, "What are you doing?" I asked him.

Kise began walking with me, "I was worried about you."

"You didn't have to be," I said.

"Who was that?" Kise asked.

"Haizaki's older brother," I answered truthfully.

"And my middle school ex boyfriend," I added.

"Turned big brother to me," I added on.

"Although that wasn't how he felt," he mumbled.

"You guys didn't seem friendly with each other," he commented.

"We used to be," I said.

"What happened?" Kise inquired.

I looked at him, debating on whether to tell him the truth or not, "He tried to sleep with me at a time when I wasn't feeling too good."

Kise stopped with wide eyes before turning back to the school, "No Kise," I said tugging on him.

"SHIRACCHI, THAT'S NOT OKAY, I NEED TO PUNCH HIM!" Kise yelled and pulled at me.

"No," I said before mumbling to myself, "The day has come where I am preaching against violence, oh lord."

"Shiracchi," Kise whined at me.

"It happened over two years ago," I said, taking his hand and pulling him away.

"Two years ago?" Kise asked.

"Yeah, so don't do anything stupid okay?" I said.

Kise nodded slowly, "That's the pinky promise thing between Daiki and I," I said.

"What?" Kise asked.

"I ran into Daiki right after it happened, that's the pinky promise he made to me, not to tell anyone," I explained as we came upon my house.

I saw Kise ball his fists, "Hey, don't worry about it," I said.

"I'm really angry," Kise said and I shot him a questioning look before he continued, "I'm fucking pissed because you didn't call me but I know why you didn't."

That was it. The first time since we had reunited that he had ever mentioned what happened between us. There was a long moment of silence before I broke it and said, "Maybe you should go to the store and get some things for dinner."

"Yeah," Kise said in a low voice and then walked off.

Sakura came out and looked at me, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah…" I said.

"That was convincing," she said sarcastically.

I looked down the road, "You know how many times I came to visit my parents and I looked down this road; knowing that he was a five minute walk away?"

Sakura gave me a pitiful expression, "I used to wonder if he ever thought the same thing."

* * *

The trip to Kyoto and Rakuzan was one that was mostly made in silence. Everyone seemed to have a somber air about them, and the snooty people at Rakuzan didn't help. Things got better when we went to Akita though, mostly in part because I was excited to see my brother. "Is it really okay for us to stay here?" Sakura asked me as we approached the house.

"Yeah, he doesn't have a family or anything so it's okay," I said smoothing down my hair.

"Nii-chan!" I shouted as I walked into the home.

"Shira," my brother said walking into the living room.

"Do I look cute today?" I questioned him as he walked up to me.

He smiled, "You always look cute," he said giving me a hug.

"Good answer," I said as I nuzzled my face into his chest.

"I have the guest room set up for all you guys," he said.

"We'll get unpacked and then head to Yosen with you," I said, leading the way up the stairs.

I threw my stuff onto one of the beds as I pondered how weird it was that the memory I associated most with this room was how it was my hideout when I was upset about Kise, and now here I was, with Kise, in this room. "We should hurry," Sakura commented.

All I have to say about Yosen was that it was a gigantic school that sucked the soul out of everyone and made us stay there until late in the afternoon. We were all but exhausted when we got back to my brother's and only had enough energy to eat and go to bed. "Oh no-ssu," Sakura and I heard Kise groan.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"My phone's dead," he whined.

"So?" Sakura asked.

Kise looked at me and whimpered like a scared puppy dog, "That also means his nightlight is dead," I explained.

Sakura gave Kise an apathetic look, "You're eighteen years old Kise, I think it's time you start sleeping without a nightlight."

Kise glared at her and I sighed as I pulled out my phone and started searching through my apps, "Let me see..let..me..see...Ah, there," I said holding out my phone to him, "Why do you still have this?" he asked looking up at me.

"Because deleting it would've taken effort," I said.

Kise laughed, "Be grateful you dimwitted banana," I growled.

"There's only two beds, so I guess we're sharing senpai," Sakura said crawling into my bed.

"Alright," I said getting into bed with her as Kise got into the other one.

It lasted seven minutes. I counted. After 420 seconds I threw back the covers saying, "I can't do this."

I saw Kise rub his eyes groggily, "What's the matter Shiracchi?"

"She has her leg over me and she's too close and I can't deal with this," I said hastily.

Kise smiled as he walked over and relocated Sakura to the other bed, "See Sakura, Shiracchi has to be cuddled a certain way," he said getting into the opposite side of my bed, "Like this," he said sliding one hand under my head while the other wrapped around my waist.

"Whatever," Sakura said, "It's always different when someone you're in love with does it, and by the way Kise, you're really annoying and this is why I quit your fanclub."

"You quit his fanclub because I punched you in the face and he was mean to you," I said through my blushing.

Kise laughed lightly, "That's true," he said resting his head in the crook of my neck.

* * *

"Shi-chin."

"Shi-chin."

I slowly opened my eyes as I felt someone poke my lips with a pocky stick. "Stop trying to feed her, she's asleep," I heard another voice say.

One poking me with food. Murasakibara. One telling him to stop. Himuro. "Why are you here so early?" I asked Murasakibara.

"I wanted to see you," Murasakibara answered.

"Oh, well, I'm tired," I said.

"I'm tired too," Atsushi said, and then proceeded to squish his huge frame next to me and Kise.

"Atsushi, I think they were having a moment," Himuro said.

"Ah yes, the most romantic moments are those that happen during REM sleep," I said sarcastically.

"Do you want to go downstairs," an already awake Sakura suggested to the probably irritated Himuro.

"Sure," he answered and went out of the room with her.

It must've been sometime later when Kise woke up and asked me, "Why is Murasakibaracchi in bed with us?"

"How do you even say his name like that? It's like seven syllables," I asked him.

I felt Kise shrug, "I came to wake up you and Shi-chin, but I got tired," Atsushi answered.

"Why did you want to wake me up?" I asked him.

I heard the crinkle of a wrapper opening and Atsushi said, "I wanted you to go with me when I visited auntie Haizawa."

"I see," I said getting up, "Well, let's get going then, I'm always up for cake for breakfast."

My cousin was excited to see everyone to say the least, or should I say she was excited to feed everyone. We weren't there five minutes before everyone had a plate of pastries and candy placed before them. "Kise, Sakura, it's nice to meet you," my cousin said sitting down.

"It's nice to meet you as well, this is delicious," Kise said with a full mouth.

"So nice," my cousin swooned, "I wished Shira would get a boyfriend like you."

Enter an extremely uncomfortable silence between everyone, "Did I say something wrong? Do you two not like each other?" my cousin asked.

"Ehh? But Kise-chin and Shi-chin made up right? I just assumed when they were sleeping together," Murasakibara said offhandedly.

Another more uncomfortable silence. I forced a smile onto my face, "You know Atsushi, if you weren't so cute I'd slap you."

* * *

Hey there! I wanted to thank the people who read/favorite/follow this and of course the lovely people who leave reviews. To **amy1945**, it is true that Kise shall never

be safe with Shira and her "occasional" pervertedness. Poor little blonde cinnamon roll, poor child. To **ThatOneHeffalumpInTheCorner**, this fic was written for my

need to torture Kise because while Kise is bae, he is that bae I felt like I needed to check (and to be honest he's just so easy to pick on) and I don't think Shira will

ever lose her denseness when it comes to Aomine if that was what you were referring to. To **WaffleeLi**, I would definitely classify the OC in the Aomine fic more in

the category of precious child more than sassy and Aomine's feelings for Shira shall be completely revealed in the next chapter, so just a little bit longer on that. To

**Xrupa**, the fluff is my favorite thing to write and I pray to the fluff gods every night and thank you for your well wishes, I'm fully recovered and totally ready for the

final lap of this fic. You're fondness of Kise should completely return by the next couple chapters because he gets a lot better.


	37. Chapter 37

**[Kise's POV]**

As soon as I heard my alarm and the groan emitted from my dorm mate I rushed to turn it off, "Sorry-ssu," I said softly.

My roomie glared at me, "Sorry doesn't put me back to sleep."

"Don't be mad," I pouted at him.

He turned over in his bed, "Tch."

I smiled and looked down at phone, it was four in the morning. I'm sure my roommate had been looking forward to the cute girls that always surrounded me when he found out I was a famous model, not the reality of my often long and inconvenient work hours. Girls sometimes come around, but I only smile and give them an autograph or picture if they want it. My fans are cute, but none of them are Shiracchi. I blushed and tugged on my hair to remind myself not to let my mind wander.

I'm pretty pathetic, a poor excuse for a man really. I had only dated one girl since Shiracchi; she was sweet, but I couldn't move on and I haven't. Even though I'm immature I know what happened was on me. I know I overreacted and I meant to apologize, but I kept putting it off and suddenly weeks turned into months, and months into years, and here I was now; an overgrown five year old running away from the consequences of his actions. I was scared of how Shiracchi would react if I told her how I felt, would she laugh at me? Would she sigh and give me one of her pitiful or apathetic stares? I didn't know, and the uncertainty made me reluctant to face her. As I walked half asleep to the studio, I wondered when I had become like this; I was the fun, fly by the seat of your pants guy, and here I am desperately trying to press the repeat button on my freshman year of high school. I loved Shiracchi more than I've ever loved anyone, and my feelings had never wavered in these past years, but it was exactly because I loved her so much that I couldn't say that to her now. I didn't want things to change, I couldn't deal with Shiracchi not being in my life. It had been so easy when I was in high school, I had told her I loved her almost every day, but I couldn't do that anymore. Not after all that's happened. "Shiracchi, I love you," I said to the empty street I was walking down. I hadn't said those words out loud in so long, and I loved the way they sounded coming from my lips.

"Kise, who died?" my make up artist asked me once I got to the studio.

"What are you talking about?" I asked her.

"You look so sad," she said powdering my face, "This is a happy spread darling, not an ad for funeral suits."

I gave her a fake smile, "It's nothing, I'm just tired that's all."

Five hours later, when I was walking out from the job and through the crowd of girls that had gathered, I heard a familiar voice go, "CAPTAIN!"

I looked over to see one of my underclassman from Kaijo, "Can you give me a minute?" I asked him, pointing at the fangirls holding out pens and paper to me.

After I had signed and taken all the photos the crowd desired, I walked over to my kouhai, "Hihi," I said cheerily.

"Hey captain," he greeted back.

"What are you doing in Tokyo?" I asked him, "And on a school day?" I said in a fake stern voice.

He laughed, "We're here for a basketball game."

"And you thought you'd pay a visit to your favorite and beloved senpai-ssu?" I said.

"Something like that," he replied.

"Wait, how did you know where I was?" I asked.

"Your fanpage literally tracks your every movement," he answered.

"Yeah, I forgot about that," I laughed.

"But I came here on a mission," he said while grinning.

"What?" I asked.

"You know how you visited us a few weeks back?" he asked.

"Yeah," I answered.

"Well, we were rooting through all our old stuff in Coach's office, and you know how he made the graduating seniors write letters to their underclassman?" he said.

"Yeah," I chuckled, "I remember when you guys read mine, I believe there were tears shed."

"Captain, I think you might be embellishing," he said.

"Anyway-ssu, what about them?" I asked.

He smiled, "We went all the way to the bottom of the box and found yours."

"Mine?" I asked.

He beamed, handing me a stack of envelopes, "Apparently it's a longstanding tradition that Coach has the seniors do, and they give them to the underclassman before the first game of the winter cup. Only, Coach said you disappeared right before the Winter Cup in your freshman year and they must've never gotten to you," he finished.

I took the envelopes from him, "Thank you."

"No problem, I gotta go cause we have a game in an hour, but it was nice seeing you captain!" he shouted as he ran down the street.

I waved after him, before practically running back to my dorm room to read the letters. The first one I read was from Kasamatsu senpai, who basically told me to stop being a brat and make sure to become a good senpai to my underclassman. I made a mental note to call and check up on him. Moriyama senpai's was a wordy complaint on how I never threw him a mixer, and Kobori senpai's letter was a generic "it was a pleasure to be on a team with you, good luck with your future endeavors". I sighed and looked to the last letter, the envelope was yellowed and torn, and was blank on the outside, but I knew who it was from the moment I read the first word.

"_blondie,_

_Sadist sensei has threatened me that if I do not write these letters that he will give me a two hour lecture on how I am a part of this team, and given how everyone else acts about sports around here, I don't want to risk him bursting into tears and telling me how much my friendship means to him. So here it goes; at the start of this year I absolutely hated you, and that wasn't fair, especially since (as Rima so kindly brought to my attention) you probably don't know why. I hated you because my best friend just so happens to be Haizaki Shougo. I know you recognize the name, and I know it's met with negativity, and I know he's a dick, but he's also my childhood friend and my adopted younger brother. I feel very sisterly towards him, and in my head you had hurt him and I automatically didn't like you. I don't know why I didn't tell you this sooner, but I think it's because I got used to your sunflowery ass in my life, and I didn't want us to stop being friends just because of Shougo. Over the past year, you've grown on me like a tumor kid, and I don't think I've ever met anyone in my entire life as interesting as you. As for the Winter Cup, I don't worry about you at all. You've got this childlike ambition inside you; you think the world can't touch you and you're an invincible force that can do anything you set your mind to. I've never met anyone like that in my entire life. Keep being yourself Kise, even if it gets you picked on, and maybe...just maybe, you'll get me to fall in love with you in the next decade, lord knows you're a spoiled brat who always gets what he wants._

_-Shira"_

My heart seized as I read the letter; I was so wrong, so horribly wrong. I had to get to Shiracchi and make things right, she was the greatest friend I ever had and I need to apologize. I sprinted to go out of my room when I was stopped by an unlikely trio. The face I was met with first was Shougo, then to the left was Aominecchi, and then to the right was someone who I had only met once, briefly, before he punched me in the face, "Aominecchi…" I called out softly to the only person I was friendly with.

Aomine grunted, "We need to talk Kise."

"Eh talk? Can it wait? I have something important to do-ssu," I said hurriedly.

" 'fraid not," the guy to the right said coldly.

I suddenly felt scared and sort of wanted to slam my door shut, "We need to talk about Shi," Shougo said.

My ears perked up, "Shiracchi?" I asked.

"Yeah," Aominecchi said.

"What do yo-" I started to say.

"Just shut up and listen," Shougo said.

"It's real simple, you need to get your head out of your ass and man up," the guy to the right said.

"Excuse me?" I said in a sassy tone.

His eyes narrowed, "You may look at us and be a judgemental pompous little bitch if you want, but at least we know how to take care of the women we claim to love, and we all tried with Shira, but for some reason she's in love with your little fluffed up ass."

"Except for me, Shi's like a big sis to me," Shougo said.

"The last time I saw you, Shiracchi ended up bruising her ribs," I said to the black haired guy.

"WHAT?" Shougo said loudly.

"Calm down Zaki, it was a long time ago," he said.

Shougo narrowed his eyes, "I hate you so much Zami."

Aominecchi rolled his eyes, "I thought we already established that we all hate each other, we're here for Shira remember?"

"But Aominecchi," I said confused, "I thought you were in love with Momoicchi."

Aominecchi's lips turned into a scowl, "Hah? Who the hell told you that?"

"Kurokocchi," I answered.

Aominecchi's brow twitched in irritation as he turned around, "Where'd that blue midget go?!"

I flinched as Kurokocchi popped up, "I'm right here you giant ganguro."

"Where in the hell did you get the idea that I'm in love with Satsuki?" Aominecchi yelled.

"Shira-kun," Kurokocchi said.

"Fuck she's so dense, why'd you spread that around Tetsu? You know it's not the truth," Aominecchi groaned.

"Don't take that tone with me Aomine-kun, you seem to be content with telling Kise to man up, but at least he had the balls to tell Shira-kun he loved her straight up," Kurokocchi said.

"Thank you Kurokocchi," I practically squealed.

Kurokocchi looked at me blankly, "You seem to have lost them though, with the way you've been acting."

"Nevermind," I said with tears in my eyes.

"Anything's better than the, "'I love this friend who's in love with one of my best friends"' confession though," Kurokocchi said.

"What kind of half assed confession is that?" Shougo taunted.

"Haizaki-kun, should you really be talking? The way I heard it from Sakura-kun, she clung to you like a spider for months without you doing anything, and she got so impatient with you she kissed you forcefully," Kurokocchi said.

"That's weak," Zami laughed.

Kurokocchi studied the black haired guy, "Stabby-kun?" he questioned.

"Huh?" the guy said stupidly.

"Are you the one who stabbed Hanamiya-kun?" Kurokocchi asked.

"Yeah," he answered.

Kurokocchi smiled, "it's nice to meet your acquaintance Stabby-kun."

"WEAK? How the fuck did you confess then Zami?" Shougo yelled.

Zami/Stabby-kun(I don't know what his real name is-ssu :D) looked up, "Well, I shoved Shira, and she slapped me, and then I was like, "'That kinda turned me on,"" and then-"

"We don't need to hear anymore," all of us said in unison.

"So Aominecchi," I said turning to him, "You don't love Momoicchi, because I thought you two would be really cute together."

Aomine grimaced, "Satsuki? God no, I mean don't get me wrong, she's physically my type and a great girl, and in another universe sure, but it'd feel like dating my mom. We're just friends, besides, I'm in love with Shira."

I looked at Aominecchi with wide eyes before looking down, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna try and steal her away from ya, if anything I want to keep this quiet so she doesn't feel awkward around me," he said.

I was still looking down at the floor, "But you were there for Shiracchi when I wasn't, maybe you'd take better care of her."

Aominecchi scoffed, "Of course I'd take great care of her! But that's the whole reason we're all here. She doesn't want me, and she doesn't want Takeda, she wants you. You love her and she loves you, stop beating around the bush and tell her how you feel."

"Takeda?" I asked.

"Stabby-kun," Shougo answered.

"Don't call me that," Takeda sneered.

Shougo chuckled, "I'm gonna spread it around so much it'll be your new street name."

Takeda narrowed his eyes, "I'm going to stab you."

Shougo just smiled widely at him in response, "FUCK!" Takeda yelled.

Aominecchi looked at me with thoughtful eyes, "Kise, about what you said about me taking care of Shira, did she tell you about the pinky promise?"

I nodded, "What?" Shougo and Kurokocchi inquired.

"You're brother's a douchebag," Aominecchi said to Shougo.

"He is a fuckin douchebag," Takeda chimed in.

"He is a d-bag-ssu," I added on.

"I know he's a fucking douchebag, but my question is...How do you guys know?" Shougo asked.

"He tried to take advantage of Shira and I found her in a park at 3 in the morning," Aominecchi replied.

"Aominecchi, the pinky promise," I said.

"Fuck the pinky promise, if she's gonna violate it, I'm gonna violate it," he said.

Shougo clucked his tongue and started to walk away, "Wait! Shougo, where are you going?" I asked.

"TO KILL A BITCH!" he yelled.

"Wait for me Zaki! I got my knife!" Takeda shouted out as he ran to catch up with him.

"Well, this isn't really any of my business, so I'll be leaving," Kurokocchi said before disappearing.

"Tch," Aominecchi said in response.

"Aominecchi," I said sympathetically.

"Don't look at me like that, okay? I'll get over it, I knew from the very beginning that she was so in love with you she wouldn't give me a second glance, so I'm way better off than someone like Takeda. He got his heart crushed," Aominecchi said.

"Yeah," I said lowly.

"Just don't hurt her again, I don't care what toll you think these past two years have taken on you, but it's nothing compared to how hard it's been on her. She fuckin fell for you man, she fell for you so hard and then you just abandoned her and it crushed her so bad. She acted like she got over you and moved on, but she was always waiting, hoping you'd come back," Aominecchi sighed, "Look, I'm just saying, if you hurt her again I'll punch you in the face, and I'm sure there are five other guys who'll be waiting in line to beat your ass as well."

"I won't," I said seriously.

Aominecchi locked eyes with me and laughed, "Why do I believe you?"  
"Because you know when I'm not playing around," I said in a steely tone.

"Go to her," he said.

I grinned, "I was on my way, before all you assholes decided to hold me up."

I pulled out my phone as I walked past Aominecchi and out of the University, dialing Shiracchi's number as I did so. I frowned as the phone only rang once before stopping, and I wondered if she was screening her calls and didn't want to talk to me when I heard the automated voice of a woman say, "_I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed is currently located in the NTT Medical Center Tokyo and the service is unavailable. Please call back at a later time."_

My heart skipped a beat, Shiracchi was at the hospital? Was she hurt? I immediately ran towards the hospital, it was a twenty minute run, but I knew I wouldn't catch a taxi or a train at this time in the morning. When I entered the hospital, my heart was beating out of my chest, "Excuse me, I'm looking for a patient by the name of Haizawa," I said breathlessly to a woman at the front desk.

"She's on the sixth floor, can you please sign in," she said trying to hand me a clipboard, but I was already running towards the elevator.

"Sir! You need to sign in!" she yelled at me as I got impatient with waiting for the elevator and ran up the stairs.

I ran up six flights of stairs and emerged from a door, only to be greeted with another front desk, "Haizawa," was all I managed to breathe out.

The woman smiled at me, "She's quite the popular lady, she's already had two visitors today, it's such a shame though...she's so funny and full of life...to only have a couple months left…," she sighed sadly, "She's in room F11."

I jogged down the hall as tears streamed down my face. Months left? . . . Months was not enough time for me to show Shiracchi how much I loved her, months was not long enough to do all the things I wanted to do with her. I wanted years, decades, centuries with her. I was greedy, I wanted all of her all to myself, no one else could take her from me now, not even death. I couldn't let it. .No. My body crashed against a wall and I slumped to the floor, letting out a silent scream as I gripped my hair tightly and tears flew from my face. My hands shook as I fought back the urge to vomit, because it felt as if my whole entire chest had fallen into my stomach. I forced myself up. I only had months. Months. Months. Months. I was wasting time. Thirty seconds in this hallway was time lost with her. I had to go. Go. Go. Go. Shiracchi. I had to go to Shiracchi.

I burst into the room once I had found it, Shiracchi stood up from the chair she was sitting in. "Kise? What's wrong?" she managed to ask before I grabbed her into a tight hug.

I cried harder, "You can't die, you can't. Not before you know how much I love you. I fucked up so much, I'm so sorry Shiracchi. I'll spent the rest of my life making it up to you, but you have to stay alive for that. I can't lose you. You're supposed to fall in love with me, we're supposed to get married, and have tons of kids, and I can't do that with anyone but you."

"Kise," she said softly right before I pulled her into deep kiss.

This wasn't how I planned Shiracchi and I's first kiss in my head, I had a hundred different scenarios, all of them strikingly romantic, but this beat out all them because it was...so...Shiracchi. It was urgent and raw, I brushed my tongue against her lips and her mouth immediately opened in acceptance. Shiracchi tasted sweet followed up with a bitter bite, a combination of cigarettes and lollipops that was so distinctly her. One of my hands gripped the back of her head tightly while the other made it's way around her waist and pushed her into me as much as possible.

Shiracchi's hands gripped my shirt even after our lips parted, "Kise," she said with hazy eyes, "I'm not dying."

"That would be me dear," I heard another voice say in the room.

That was when I actually looked at the hospital bed, which was inhabited by a frail old woman with Shiracchi's stark black hair and signature smirk. I could only deduce that this was Shiracchi's grandmother that she was so fond of...the one with the same last name...who was dying...and trying to have an emotional moment with her granddaughter...that I interrupted...with my hormones...well, my love, but she probably thinks it was my hormones.

I ran out the room. This morning I had made a wonderful metaphor in my head about being the proverbial five year old running away from his problems. Fast forward to this afternoon, where I, Kise Ryouta, literal five year old, was running away from his literal problems.

**[Shira's POV]**

Kise felt soft, his shirt was soft, his hair was soft, his skin was soft, his lips were soft, and on top of that he had to taste great too. It irritated me to no end that this guy would probably never understand the concept of bedhead, dry skin, chapped lips, or bad breath, but that was Kise. Being so close to him, hearing him say that he loves me, it made me happier than I thought I could be. That happiness was short lived however, because Kise bolted the minute I got an actual sentence out, "You only love me when I'm dying?" I asked myself.

I heard my grandma laugh, "You better go after him Shira, he's the one."

"Grandma, don't say stuff like that," I said blushing.

She laughed harder, "Trust me, it's the ones that cause you the most trouble that are the ones you're meant to be with. If you had any idea what your Grandfather put me through, he reminds me a lot of him, that blonde child. Your grandpa had literally plastered himself to a tree on our wedding night, sobbing about the trouble he had caused me and how our families disapproved. I told him to wipe his tears on the bark and meet me at the shrine when he was done feeling sorry for himself."

I smiled, "Shira, people like you two will always eventually come together, it's better to spend as much time as possible with them. I'm glad I'm going after your grandpa because I don't think I could deal with his blubbering self at my deathbed, but I'd give anything just to have ten minutes with him. Decades go by like seconds when you grow older, you don't have any time to waste, so get your ass after him. I promise I won't die while you're gone," she said shooing me out the door.

I had to abandon my heels and run after Kise barefoot in the halls of the hospital. I managed to catch up to him because he wasn't running, grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him into the nearest room. Pushing him onto the ground, I sat on his lap and place my hands on his shoulders, "Why are you running away?" I asked him.

He was still crying and then started crying even harder when I asked him the question. I laughed, "Shiracchi, it's not funny. I thought you were dying."

"I know," I said in between laughs, "But it's your crying face, it's hilarious."

Kise grabbed onto my waist, "I love you so much-ssu," he said, nuzzling his face into my neck.

I kissed his head and said in his ear, "I love you too."

He sniffed, "Do you mean that?"

I ran my fingers through his hair and wrapped my arms around his neck, "I do," I said, kissing his temple.

"And Kise?" I said rubbing his back.

"Hmm?" he asked.

"I'm letting you rub your snotty tear stained face on my shirt. If that's not a testament of my love for you, I don't know what is," I said.

"Say things like that to me for the rest of my life," Kise mumbled against me.

I smirked, "Well, you're the only guy my grandmother's ever met and she likes you, so there's no other option but for me to get married and have a bunch of kids with you."

Kise looked up at me and grinned, "You're edgy and I'm cute. Our children are going to be perfect."

"You could say they'll be perfect copies," I spat out.

Kise frowned, "You're ruining the moment-ssu."

"You already ruined the moment with your snot, and Izuki would be proud of me," I said defensively.

"Do you mind?" a voice asked.

Both Kise and I looked over, and for the first time noticed two old men in beds, "Aw Seymour, let them be, they're just in love," one said to the other.

"Shut up Bill, Helen won't let you talk to me like that," the other one said.

"Helen's been dead for eleven years," Bill said to Seymour and then turned to us, "You have to excuse him, he's got a touch of dementia."

"I do not have dementia," Seymour said.

"Oh yeah? Then what did you just say to that couple over there?" Bill asked.

Seymour looked at us, "There is probably more than a 50% chance their kids are going to have blue eyes and blonde hair. They will not look Japanese at all."

* * *

Hi there! Thanks to everyone who reads/follows/favorites this story, and a special thank you to the awesome and lovely people who take the time to leave reviews.

To **ThatOneHeffalumpInTheCorner**, I am right there with you in regards to the love for Murasakibara. He is my son, my 6''10 son, and if he was chibified, I'd file

for shared custody and he could be both of our pets. To **amy1945**, Aomine's confession in this chapter wasn't to Shira, but I hope it lived up to your excitement

nonetheless, and I really love the Murasakibara moment as well, especially when I read through it after I wrote it and realized that Sakura was already up, so

there was a free bed for him to use, but I kept it in there because I have this very strong headcanon that Murasakibara likes to cuddle. To **Akashicchi-ssu**, I feel the

sadness too, it's hard for me to think that I'm almost done writing this fic, and I also wish someone would wake me up like Mukkun did in the last chapter, because

how can you really have a bad morning when pocky's the first thing you see? To **WaffleeLi**, I hope the confession was okay, it wasn't very dramatic per say, but at

least there's no confusion as to how he feels now. And I am not ready for this to end either, but hopefully we'll weather the storm together and get to the next fic

alive. Much love back to you xoxo, thank you so much for your continued support and dealing with these children and their inability to admit their feelings for so long.


	38. Chapter 38

After our whole hospital incident, I would love to say that it was all rainbows and butterflies, and that Kise and I lived happily ever after, but that wasn't the case. Mainly because as soon as we walked out the doors (dodging some lengthy glares from the woman in the front) Kise insisted on something that I absolutely dreaded; dating. The word caused chills to run down my spine, because I thought the whole thing was stupid and unnecessary, especially since I attributed Haizaki-nii's and I's relationship ending because of it. It was dating that made me realize how incompatible and unsatisfied we were, and Kise, not so much of a goody two shoes, was not any less prince-like, and I guess a part of me is scared that I'd fall out of love with him as well if we started dating. I laughed at my middle school self now, and wondered whatever made me think I needed my "white prince" or any guy to come rescue me. It wasn't the same situation now, there's a difference between wanting someone because you feel they complete you and wanting someone because you're completely in love with them. Kise was the latter to me, and unfortunately, that left me in a more vulnerable position than I liked to be in. So, our conversation went something like this:

"Shiracchi!" Kise shouted and distanced himself from me in the hospital parking lot.

"What?" I said cocking my eyebrow.

"It has to be proper-ssu!" he yelled.

"I'm so confused," I sighed.

Kise shut his eyes closed and continued to point at me, "The way I did things wasn't proper, you deserve more than that Shiracchi!"

"What are you saying Kise, get to the point," I said impatiently.

"D-d-at-t-e, I want to date you!" he sputtered out.

"Huh?" I said unimpressed before sighing again, "Look Kise, I don't know if you haven't noticed, but I'm not really a girl who cares about dating."

"It's proper!" he spat out.

I smirked, "I'm not exactly a proper girl Kise, and what's the point of dating? We were close friends before, so it's not like we need to get to know each other."

"Please," he said in a low voice, "I know I screwed up and," he said pushing his index fingers together and blushing, "I want to treat Shiracchi like a princess to make up for it-ssu."

"Fine," I said rubbing my temple, "How many of these dates do I need to go on?" I asked grumpily.

Kise rubbed the back of his head, "I don't know, twenty?"

My mouth turned downwards into a scowl, "Make it ten."

Kise frowned at me before sighing, "Okay…" he conceded.

"And on one condition," I added.

"What?" he asked me.

"Since you so kindly brought it up, we're going to talk about what happened two years ago, and we're going to leave it in this parking lot because I'm tired of dealing with something that ridiculous that happened so long ago," I said.

"Okay," Kise nearly whispered and shuffled his feet.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to yell at you or anything, I already forgave you a long time ago," I said.

He looked up at me, "You did?"

"More like a month ago, but I think that's enough time," I said.

"Oh," Kise said.

"Look, part of the reason I can forgive you so easily is because it was understandable why you were upset. You walk in on Shougo kissing me and get the wrong idea, but the only issue we have here is that you stopped talking to me and didn't let me explain. So, I'm going to give you the explanation, and you are going to promise me you'll discuss things with me from now on instead of shutting me out," I said matter of factly.

"Shougo and I are just friends," I continued.

"I know that," Kise interjected, "I realized that after I saw you two interacting this year."

"Well that explains your sudden mood shift," I said, recalling how he had went from giving me the cold shoulder to practically stalking me.

"It just looked like you two were together that night, and I thought that for the past two years, and I was angry because you being with someone like Shougo seemed far more natural than you being with me-ssu," he admitted.

"I didn't know you were so insecure about our compatibility," I said.

"Of course I am, and I probably always will be. I can't help but think that people would look at the two of us and wonder why we were together or what could we possibly have in common, that's why I get jealous so easily-ssu," Kise replied.

"But none of that matters! The way I act towards you is because I love you, I don't care if everyone else thinks we don't belong together," Kise finished.

I smiled, "If you had stuck around long enough for me to tell you why Shougo was kissing me this wouldn't be an issue."

"Why was he?" Kise asked doubtfully.

"Because he was jealous," I answered.

Kise's eyes widened, "Of me?" he asked.

I nodded, "Specifically, our relationship. So if you're ever concerned about how others view our compatibility, just remember that you made Haizaki Shougo; my best friend and closest person to me, so jealous and insecure, that he thought he must be in love with me."

Kise looked down at the ground, "I should've never doubted you Shiracchi."

"You shouldn't have, now you know and we can move on, and just so you know, if anything like this happens again and you stop talking to me, I reserve the right to hunt you down and castrate you," I said.

Kise looked up and smiled, "It's a deal."

I smiled back and tugged on his collar, pulling him down, "I love you, ya giant kid."

"I love you too," Kise said wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into a kiss.

* * *

**Date 1: **

Kise didn't tell me what our first date was, instead he told me the time and day that he was going to pick me up. Despite being the one against dating in the first place, I was nervous as I waited for Kise in my apartment and I must've changed my clothes about ten times. I jumped when he finally knocked on my door and relaxed when I opened it to reveal a fidgety Kise that was just as nervous as I was. "I just have to feed the cat before I go," I said leaving him to go to the kitchen.

"I almost forgot she was here," Kise said, approaching the ball of fluff that was eyeing him suspiciously.

"Ow!" I heard as I set the bowl of food down on the floor.

"What happened?" I asked as I walked back into the living room.

"She scratched me," Kise said cradling his hand with tears in his eyes.

"Well, Karma's a bitch," I said.

"Shiracchi, I thought we were putting the past behind us," Kise whined.

"We did," I said chuckling, "The cat's name is Karma."

"Oh," Kise said looking at the cat who just hissed at him in response.

I laughed, "Come on, where are we going anyway?"

"Surprise," Kise said as he examined his finger.

"Shiracchi, it's bleeding," Kise pouted as we walked down the street.

"Here," I said walking into a nearby convenience store and heading to the first aid aisle.

I looked at the band-aids they had on the shelves, "What do you want?" I asked Kise.

"What do they have?" Kise asked tearfully.

"They have dinosaurs, Spongebob, Superman, Batman, Barbie, and butterflies," I answered.

"Shiracchi, which ones do you think I should get?" Kise asked me.

"Honestly, I feel like the Barbie ones fit you the most," I said.

"Then those," he said picking up the box and went to go pay for it.

"Shiracchi, can you put it on for me?" Kise asked.

"Why?" I asked flustered, "Can't you do it yourself?"

"But Shiracchi, it'll be tighter if you do it-ssu," Kise whined.

"Fine," I said smirking as I unwrapped one and secured it around his finger before I brought it to my lips.

"Shiracchi, what are you doi-" Kise asked me as I kissed his finger.

"I'm kissing it to make it all better," I said innocently and sent him a wink.

"Shiracchi…" Kise managed to mumble out as his face turned red.

"Come along blondie, you can't stand here all night," I said walking down the street.

"That's the wrong way," Kise commented.

"What do you expect, I don't know where we're going," I huffed.

Kise laughed and took my hand in his, "Let's go Shiracchi."

And that was how I ended up walking around downtown Tokyo with a well over 6 ft guy wearing a pink band aid with Barbie blowing a kiss on it. Our destination was the movie theater, a good choice for a first date I might add; no pressure for a conversation and no eye contact required. "What are we seeing?" I asked him while I sipped a blue raspberry slushie that I got in the largest size they had.

"Dandelions in the Meadow," Kise answered.

My eyebrows furrowed, "Sounds like a chick flick."

Kise smiled widely, "It's supposed to be the best romance movie of the year!"

"Sounds great," I said , feigning enthusiasm as he pulled me towards the theater.

Dandelions in the Meadow turned out to be a horrible chick flick just as I suspected, it was centered around Missy or Stacy or something or other and John, or Jonathan (one of the two) and one of them had cancer, and then Jonathan was enlisted in the army or something. I found the plot beaten to death and my eyes started to droop a half an hour into the movie. I woke up five minutes later due to Kise shaking my shoulder, "Shiracchi, do you not like the movie?" Kise asked me.

"Do you?" I whispered back.

"Not really," he replied.

"Let's go see something else," I whispered and then stood up and walked out of the theater.

"Should we go to the front?" Kise asked.

"Nah, we'll just walk into another movie," I said sipping my drink.

"That's against the rules," Kise said giving me a horrified look.

"It's like eating at a restaurant, if you don't like what you ordered then they give you something else off the menu free of charge," I said, inspecting what was playing in the neighboring theaters.

Kise sighed, "Then we'll see this one," he said pulling me into another theater.

I had to give props to Kise, both movies he selected were good for your average girl. The chick flick would've made most girls swoon over how sensitive he was and the second movie he pulled me into (a horror film) was just begging for me to get scared and snuggle up close to him for comfort. Unfortunately these both backfired on him, the first because I hate chick flicks and the second because the one scared by horror movies was Kise. Ten minutes into the movie his head was planted into my shoulder and his hand gripped tightly onto my wrist. I sipped my slushie as the first person got murdered, I felt Kise flinch as she screamed, "Shhhhii-rr-aa-cchi…" Kise whimpered.

"Do we need to find another movie?" I asked in a motherly tone.

He nodded and I guided him out of theater and into another one playing a film that I deemed safe. It was animated kids movie, nothing could wrong right? Wrong. They killed off the dog. "Shiracchi," Kise sniffed.

I wiped a tear away from my eye, "I know," I said.

"Who the hell does that? That's the number one rule of movies, you don't kill the dog," I huffed when we got out of the theater.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore," Kise said sadly.

"Can you hold this?" I asked Kise handing him my slushie, "A half gallon of this stuff really does a number."

"Sure," Kise said as I left him to go to the bathroom.

When I came back Kise pulled me over to him, "It it me, or does that guy look like Aominecchi?"

"That is Daiki," I said, "There's not many tall, tan, and blue haired people walking around Tokyo."

"Aominecchi!" Kise called out to him.

Aomine looked at us and walked over, "Aominecchi, you're not stalking us are you, I said I'd take care of her," Kise said.

I eyed the theater Aomine was approaching, "He's not stalking us, he's here because he's a big nerd."

"_Gravure Idols: The documentary_, Aominecchi you disappoint me," Kise said.

"Shut up, don't judge me because you can't understand or appreciate Mai-chan's beauty," Aomine said huffing into his theater.

Both Kise and I started laughing, "But seriously Shiracchi, are we ever going to find a movie?" Kise asked me.

"How about that new action movie?" I suggested.

"Hmm...okay-ssu," Kise said following me into the theater.

"I really like the hero," Kise whispered to me excitedly twenty minutes into the movie.

"I do too," I whispered back.

"Really?" Kise asked.

"Yes," I said smiling, "The better the hero, the greater the villain."

Kise chuckled softly, "I should've know that was the reason."

An hour or so later we were walking back to my apartment, "So, have we officially decided on our go to genre?" I asked.

"I think so," Kise laughed.

"Did you have fun Shiracchi?" Kise asked.

"Mmhm, it was probably the best first date I've ever been on," I said smiling.

"I'm glad-ssu," Kise said holding my hand.

I could feel the Barbie band aid as he gently swung our hands back and forth, "We're here," he said as we reached my door.

"Yep," I said as my heart started to beat a little faster.

Kise grinned nervously, "Can I kiss you?" he asked.

"Of course," I said.

Kise gently tilted my head towards him, "Shiracchi, your lips are blue," he laughed.

"Sorry, it was the slushie," I murmured.

"Don't be sorry, I think it's cute," Kise mumbled right before closing the space between us.

**Date 2: **

Our second date was at a bowling alley, but one of those trendy ones with the neon lights who play indie music in hopes of convincing young people that bowling wasn't just for old people. "It's busy," Kise commented when we entered.

"It's Friday, what do you expect?" I asked him.

"Two lanes," Kise requested when we got to the attendant.

"Lucky you, you guys got the last ones available for the next two hours," he said with a smile.

"Oi," we heard from the back of us.

I looked back to see these arrogant looking guys in matching button down shirts, "Excuse me?" Kise asked with a smile.

"We practice here every Friday, those lanes are ours," their leader said snootily.

"We were here first," I sneered.

"Don't care," the leader said.

"Hey kid, keep your woman in check," another said.

Kise's eyebrows twitched, "How about we make a little bet? Your two best players against her and I, whoever wins gets the lanes."

"You're on," the main guy said.

"You sure bout this Kise, I could just punch a few of their preppy little asses out and we'll be good," I said.

"I'm sure, my goal isn't to get you arrested tonight-ssu," he said.

We won. Big shocker there. Despite my average bowling, Kise " /good at every sport invented" easily outbowled the two we were pitted against. "Tch, I guess the lanes our yours," the guys said angrily.

Kise smiled condescendingly, "You can have them, we were only planning to play one game, and I'm feeling generous because of how happy I am that I got to make myself look good in front of her," he said nodding to me.

"Kise,"

"Yes Shiracchi?"

"The competitive side of you is dangerous."

**Date 3: **

Our third date Kise took me to an aquarium, "Shiracchi, what's your favorite aquatic animal?" Kise asked me.

"Jellyfish," I answered.

"Eh? Really? I'm scared of them," Kise said.

"Why?" I asked him.

"Because they sting people right?" he said.

"I imagine they don't do it on purpose Kise, if they did I'd like them a lot better, but I guess it hurts like this," I said pinching his arm.

"Ow Shiracchi, you're so mean-ssu," he said sticking his tongue out at me.

I smirked and stood on my tip toes to kiss him before he retracted his tongue, pressing my lips to his mouth and quickly slipping my tongue into his mouth for a mere second before pulling away and walking ahead. Kise stood frozen with a red face, "Hey, don't just do that and walk away!" he yelled running to catch up to me.

"Look, you can pet the sharks over here," I said ignoring him.

"You wanna do that?" Kise asked.

"Hell yeah, sharks are awesome," I said walking up to the tank and immediately brushing my hand over the back of the shark.

Kise stood by me nervously, "Are you gonna do it?" I asked him.

"Isn't it dangerous?" he asked me in a skittish tone.

I laughed, "No, it's fine."

"Are you sure?" he asked anxiously.

"You're such a baby," I said grabbing his hand and guiding into the water, placing it on top a shark with my hand on top of his, "See? It's fine, and even if one tried to bite you, I'll punch it away before it can get to your hand."

Kise blushed before giggling, "It tickles-ssu."

**Date 4:**

"Where are we going this time?" I asked.

"Sakura recommended this place," Kise answered.

I looked at the building, "Art gallery huh? Sounds like Sakura."

We walked in, "Shougo must really love Sakura if he goes with her to places like this," I commented.

"Shiracchi that's mean," Kise pouted.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way, I meant it as there's not much to do for one who isn't an art aficionado," I said.

"I know, it sucks that you can't touch anything," Kise said in agreeance.

"We could make a trip to that kids art museum that has interactive exhibits if you want to touch stuff," I suggested.

Kise narrowed his eyes, "What's this? Shiracchi? Suggesting an idea for a date? I must be losing my hearing-ssu."

"Shut up."

**Date 5:**

On our fifth date, Kise told me to wear a dress, but since I don't wear dresses, I figured that a crop top and a high waisted skirt would have to do. "Shiracchi...you look..really good," Kise said when he picked me up.

"You've seen me in a bikini before, and you're worked up over a small part of my stomach showing," I said, commenting on how his eyes were glued to the exposed piece of flesh.

"We were just friends when you were in the bikini," Kise said narrowing his eyes.

I looked away from him blushing, "Where are we going anyway?" I asked changing the subject.

"To dinner," he said smiling, "It's kinda cold out, do you want to borrow my jacket?"

"Sure," I said as he placed it around my shoulders.

"So an actual restaurant, I'm impressed," I said as we sat down at the place Kise had taken me.

"Only the best for Shiracchi-ssu," he said happily.

I smiled, "It's a nice change of pace, college students tend to live on fast food."

"But you have a kitchen Shiracchi, and you're not a bad cook," Kise pointed.

"True, but between school and work I barely have time to eat, you're lucky I even have time for you," I teased.

"You should eat regularly," Kise said in a concerned tone.

I smirked, "Then you'll just have to start cooking for me again."

"Don't tempt me," he said.

I chuckled, "I'm just joking Kise, I know you're just as busy as me."

"I know, we're lucky we both go to the same university, between classes and basketball I practically live on campus," Kise said.

"You do live on campus sweetie, you live in the dorms," I said.

"You know what I mean, if either one of us went to school somewhere different then we wouldn't have time for each other," he said.

"That's true," I agreed.

"But you only have a year and a half left at this point right?" Kise asked me, trying not to appear as concerned he was.

"I might further my education and spend a couple extra years here," I reassured him.

Kise smiled as I turned my head to the front of the restaurant, "What's going on?" I asked.

Kise grinned wider and got out of his seat as music started playing, "Would you dance with me?" he asked.

I took the hand that he had extended, "I would," I said getting up and letting him lead me to a clearing where other couples were dancing.

"I wonder how they can dance that well, I can't dance at all," I said.

"Eh? We can sit back down if you want," Kise said hurriedly.

I turned to him, "Why, you'll lead right?"

"Shiracchi, you're so fearless," Kise said as he placed one of my hands on his chest and grasped the other as he slid an arm around my waist.

"It's jazz right?" I asked.

"I hope you like it, I know you don't prefer pop songs," he said.

"It's nice," I said resting my head on his chest.

I could hear his heart beat rapidly, "Blondie calm down," I murmured.

"I can't help it, you're so close," he nearly whispered down to me.

I smiled softly, "You know Kise, I thought you were supposed at be good at dancing. You've stepped on my feet seven times and why are you so tall? It's like dancing with a walking chest."

I heard Kise's laugh reverberate in his ribcage, "I can fix both of those problems," he said grabbing my waist and holding me up till I was face level with him.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, "Better?" he asked me.

I pressed my forehead against his, "Better."

* * *

Hey there! I want to thank all the awesome people who read/follow/favorite this story and a special thank you to the people nice enough to leave reviews. To **Xrupa**,

I think Stabby-kun is fun as well, I began to love him so much I couldn't let him go and he just had make another guest appearance. Kuroko did just poof into this

chapter and literally roasted everyone; I love writing Kuroko as a sarcastic little child calling everyone on their shit. I would agree that Kise didn't man up, I wrote it

in that way because I thought he'd much rather cling onto Shira and let her wear the pants in their relationship and take the lead. I'm so glad you're alright with Kise

now, and I hope this chapter made it all the better. To **papertowel1567**, I feel pretty bad for Aomine at this point and it would be a lot better if he was actually in

love with someone else like Kuroko, but alas, he remains our really good guy without a happy ending. To **LonerReader**, I really like writing the end of last chapter,

so I'm happy you enjoyed reading it and thank you for your support. To **Akashicchi-ssu**, I had to add that because blonde hair blue eyed future children were too

good to not put in there, and Aomine was the best bro to both Kise and Shira last chapter (I'm cruel to him, like why couldn't he just be happy) and I'm glad you

like Haizaki's reaction because it had to happen because like four different people were always hating on his older bro and he must've been so confused, and I can't

imagine him having any reaction less than going to beat his bro's butt. To **Human Marshmallow**, I had to have Kise confess in the most dramatic way with the

ugliest crying face ever, it was my mission. I love how Haizaki seems to have won best brother award when he's not Shira's actually brother, but I already wrote him

not liking his actual bro, so I think the thing was Shira was just fuel to the fire. And yes, now there's two chapters left. To **ThatOneHeffalumpInTheCorner**, their

children are going to look white as hell no one can convince me otherwise, and you might get to see a glimpse of somethin somethin like the children in the last

chapter. To **amy1945**, that was my favorite part of the chapter to write and it ended up way longer than I intended it to because I loved them all together, and I am

right there with you, the asshole trio was definitely the shiny part of last chapter. To **A Sparkly Penguin**, the struggle is real for Aomine indeed, and I'm glad you

liked the mix up and the last sentence. It makes me sad as well to think they're are only two chapters left, I'm really going to miss writing them. To **Salome**

**Maranya**, I love when people leave reviews and I can see their thoughts as they progress through the story. Shira's dad is definitely chill, if he could've married them

right there and then I think he would've. I tried to fit the muscle rankings as best I could, and the whole "best personality" and "most menacing" came about because

I got to Kuroko and was like, this poor child has no muscles but I can't exclude him. Akashi and Shira have met because Shira met most of the generation of miracles

when they had to retrieve Haizaki for practice, I just didn't write a specific scene for it because Shira wasn't heavily involved in the winter cup because of what

happened between her and Kise, and I think she's not to fond of him because he made Haizaki quit the team back in Teiko, so I wrote them specifically to be sort of

respectful but unfriendly from a distance if that makes any sense. Don't feel bad about not studying because I wrote this when I should've been doing my laundry that

I've been meaning to do for three days, so I guess fanfiction trumps all (no ragrets lol). I have a problem with giving too manyh characters nicknames, but I'm

really glad you liked them, and Kise is definitely the lovestruck teenage girl in this situation, so much so he had to cause that little mix up *snaps fingers* that you

saw through my fake angst.


	39. Chapter 39

**Date 6:**

I woke up begrudgingly to go to work because I had adult responsibilities. After I trudged my way into the office I stopped short at the door because I heard Tansai and Seito whispering about something. And I wasn't going to not eavesdrop on what they were saying because I figured it was some top secret shit. I mean c'mon, it was Tansai whispering. Tansai. Whispering. "I'm so happy," I heard Seito hum.

"Your obsession with him is creepy," Tansai huffed.

"No it's not," Seito said defensively.

"It's like you like him more than me," Tansai grumbled.

I saw Seito walk over to Tansai and drape his arms around his neck through a crack in the door, "Aw Tantan, please don't be jealous."

"Hmph," Tansai grunted unconvinced.

"Pleaassseee don't be mad Tantan, I love you," Seito said kissing Tansai's cheek.

Tansai sighed, "I have to get back to the gym."

"Oh...ok," Seito said releasing him.

A flash of guilt ran across Tansai's face before he kissed Seito's forehead saying, " I love you too."

Seito smiled and went back to his desk as Tansai walked out of the office, and right into me. The small smile that had been on his face disappeared as he hissed, "You didn't see anything."

I smirked, "What are you gonna give me so I didn't see it?"

Tansai frowned, "I'll tell you what, Kise's been begging me to give him the weekend off the week after next, I'll give it to him if you keep quiet."

"Deal," I said before I could think about the bargain I just made.

As he walked away I leaned against the door, "Oh no...did I just blackmail someone for the benefit of Kise? It's official. I'm in a relationship. I hate myself." I said to myself.

I walked into the office, "Hi Shishi!"

"Hey," I said tiredly.

"You're off today," he said humming to himself.

"What?" I asked.

"It's your day off," he reiterated.

"What?" I said in disbelief, "And you couldn't tell me this before I came?"

"Nope," Seito said smiling.

"And why the hell not?" I asked in an aggravated tone.

"Because it was a surprise," Seito said handing me a pamphlet.

"Surprise?" I questioned as I took it from him.

It was a guide to four must see sights in Tokyo with the first place circled and highlighted, "What?" I asked looking up at him.

"Kiki gave me an offer I couldn't refuse in order for you to have today off," Seito explained, "And he told me to give that to you."

"And what did my day off cost him?" I asked.

"All these photos from when my precious Daidai played basketball in middle school and high school. I'm going to use them for a collage on my next poster," Seito answered holding the pictures up.

"This reminds me of the time that you disguised yourself as a college student in order to film the first time I taught a class," I said.

"Your point?" Seito asked.

"I think you have a problem," I said.

Seito puffed out his cheeks, "And what if I do?"

I sighed, "I only have a year or two left so I guess it's not my problem anymore."

Seito frowned, "Don't make me think about my Shishi leaving me!"

"It's alright," I said patting his head.

Seito perked up, "Anyways, you should hurry to your date...so romantic," he swooned before spacing out on me.

"Yeah," I mumbled.

The place that had been highlighted was the Tsukiji Fish Market, and when I got there it wasn't hard to spot Kise with his tallness and blonde hair waving at me. "Shiracchi!" he said smiling.

"Hey blondie, mind telling me what we're doing here?" I asked.

He pulled me into a hug and explained, "I came across this pamphlet in a gas station and I thought that since I just moved here and you've practically lived in the university it could be a fun thing for us to do-ssu."

"And what exactly are we doing? Going all these places?" I asked leaning into his chest.

"Yep! It recommended this place for the live tuna tuna auctions, but those start at 4:30 in the morning and I know you got home from work late last night, so I thought we could just get some sushi," he said brushing his fingers through my hair.

I blushed, dammit all, he was so...considerate. It annoyed me only because I thought I was one of the least considerate people in the world and silently wondered how I would ever match him. "Come on Shiracchi, I already have the place picked out!" Kise said excitedly while he grabbed my hand.

"You do like sushi, don't you?" Kise asked with a sudden panicked expression and began flipping through the menu frantically, "If not then I'm sure that they have other things, and we can always go somewhere else-"

"Calm down," I said placing my hand on his, "I like sushi, you made it for me a bunch of times in those bentos remember?"

"Yeah," Kise breathed, "Sorry Shiracchi, I'm just a bit nervous."

"Why?" I asked.

Kise closed his eyes and blushed, "No matter how much time I spend with Shiracchi I still get butterflies in my stomach like the first time I realized I loved you-ssu."

My face darkened before I smiled and asked, "And when was the first time you realized that you loved me?"

Kise smiled softly, "After I lost to Aominecchi and you told me I could be captain."

"Wasn't that when you confessed to me?" I asked.

"Yep!" he answered cheerfully.

I laughed, "You really have no filter Kise."

"It wasn't so much that as it was I was really scared that if I didn't tell you someone was going to come and swoop you away," Kise said.

"Really?" I asked.

He nodded, "And even though you rejected me all those times, I thought that professing my love for you out loud and in public would be enough to keep other guys away-ssu."

"I never used to think you were that crafty," I poked at him.

He turned to me with narrowed eyes, "So Shiracchi, when did you realize that you first loved me?"

It was my turn to be flustered, "It was right before your match with Shougo at the Winter Cup, and he totally called me out on it," I finished laughing.

"Shougo? How?" Kise asked.

"He straight out asked if I was in love with you and I told him no, and he called bullshit, and it was indeed bullshit," I said.

"You should've told me," Kise whined.

"I didn't want to distract you, plus I was still getting used to the idea myself," I said.

"Okay, I'll accept that-ssu," he said paying for our meal, "Are you ready for the next destination?"

"Depends on what it is," I said slyly.

Kise grinned from ear to ear, "Oh I think you'll definitely like what we're doing next."

And was he right. This boy took me to a sumo tournament, and can I just say that violence makes me so happy. "I'm so happy," I said as I watched the two men in the arena go at it.

Kise giggled, "I thought you'd like this activity the most."

Our next stop was Meiji Shrine, it was a Sunday morning so we immediately spotted a wedding ceremony being held as we walked up. "Shiracchi look," Kise said pointing to the front.

"I see them," I said.

"Have you ever thought about your own wedding?" Kise asked.

"I've never given it much thought because I never saw myself as the marrying type," I answered.

"Do you think you'd like something traditional like this?" Kise asked.

"I like the intimacy of it I guess, but if there's a wedding ceremony that doesn't require me to wear a dress you can sign me up no questions asked," I replied.

"I always thought I'd want a really big ceremony-ssu," Kise said.

"You could always do small ceremony and have a big reception," I suggested.

Kise nodded, "That's a good idea, we'll do that."

"We?" I asked smiling.

"Yeah, I'm gonna marry you Shiracchi," Kise said with a serious face.

I gave him a look of disbelief, "Kise, we've only been going out for a couple of weeks-"

"Doesn't matter, I knew a long time ago I was going to marry you," he said walking up the steps, "Let's go to the cleansing station and make a wish."

I stood there with my mouth open before following Kise, who was already dipping his hands in the water, "In the words of the great Kise Ryouta, don't just say things like that and walk away," I said washing my hands and mouth.

Kise just smiled and handed me a piece of paper, "Let's make a wish."

As I wrote down my wish all I could think was _this is the sappiest thing I have ever written in my life_. While I knew that the chances of Kise and I getting married were slim, I never wanted him out of my life again, and that's exactly what I wished for. "Here, let's tie them next to each other," Kise said.

After the shrine was a department store near Tokyo station, "What's this?" I asked Kise who was pulling me into a store.

"I wanted to get custom matching kimonos," Kise said energetically.

"What?" I asked.

"So we can wear them to festivals and such, and then everyone will know you're mine-ssu," Kise said.

I laughed, "What do you think about this material? I think dark blue will look good on both of us," he asked.

"I think it's beautiful," I said smiling.

**Date 7:**

I knew this was going to be a problem when I was dating Kise. The problem being that he was active. Very active. Compared to someone like me whose only form of exercise in her life was required physical education classes and beating people up. None of which require the gracefulness that Kise was asking of me. "I really don't want to do this," I said.

Kise laughed, "It's good to try new things Shiracchi."

"Ice skating is not a necessity in life," I growled.

"Don't worry, I'll be with you the whole entire time," Kise reassured me.

And he was, "You know I'm beginning to think this was some nasty plot concocted by you just so I would be clinging to you this whole time," I said as I clutched onto his arm for dear life.

I was standing up on the ice straight, not moving an inch, Kise was literally towing me across the ice, "Well the movies didn't work-ssu," Kise laughed.

I shrieked as he suddenly pushed me away, before catching my hand at the last second and pulling me back to him, "I hate you," I said in a muffled voice as I was pressed up against his chest.

"You know I'd never let you fall Shiracchi," Kise said.

"Mhmm," I said unconvinced.

"You want to get us some hot chocolate and then we can go?" Kise asked pulling us over the the side.

"Sounds good," I said stepping out of the rink with all the gracefulness of a newborn horse.

Kise laughed as I took off my skates, "I have a shoe with a sharp blade in my hand, don't push me," I said glaring at him.

When I came back with the drinks I got to actually observe Kise skate, which surprise surprise, he was a master at. I sat down silently and watched him skate until he noticed me, "Sorry-ssu," he said coming over to me and grinning sheepishly.

"No, you're really great, but that isn't a surprise," I said handing him a drink.

Kise blushed and rubbed his head, "I was beginning to think Shiracchi was impossible to impress with athletics."

I brought my knee up to my cheek and looked at him, "You're a great athlete, there's no debating that Kise."

Kise looked away from me and blushed, "Shiiiracchhiii," he whined.

I chuckled and grabbed his face, bringing it centimeters to mine, "You're so adorable you know that?" I asked in a taunting voice, my lips brushing against him as I spoke.

Kise narrowed his eyes and smirked, "Shiracchi, you shouldn't do things like that," he said wrapping his arms around my waist.

I smirked back and brought my mouth to his ear, "Why?" I breathed before gently biting his ear.

Kise whined in his throat, "Shiracchi, why are you doing that?" he asked.

"Because some time ago, you told me that ears aren't sexual," I said and bit his ear again, this time rolling my tongue over his earring and eliciting a shiver from him.

"Shiracchi, you're being mean to me," he whined and nuzzled into my neck.

I chuckled, "If I recall correctly, you said the same thing to me back then.

He pouted, "Are you really trying to settle a three year argument right now?"

I laughed, "I guess I am."

Kise was about to start whining again but I cut him off with a kiss, "I'm just teasing you," I said breaking the kiss.

Kise smiled and went in to kiss me. I stopped him, putting his ear between my fingers and rubbing softly, "But I'm right."

**Date 8: **

Freaking Kise and his need to make me try things that I don't want to try. All anyone needs to know about this date is that Kise made me eat a cricket and it is something I will never let him forget it.

**Date 9:**

"What are you doing here?" I asked, cautiously opening my door.

"Shiracchi, I'm sorry I made you eat a cricket," Kise whined from the outside, "I'm making it up to you with a normal date-ssu."

"Okay," I said opening the door to my apartment all the way.

Kise came in with grocery bags and flowers, which he handed to me, "What is all this?" I asked.

"We're going on a picnic," he answered.

"In winter?" I asked him as he headed towards my kitchen.

"It'll be fine, I'm going to use your kitchen to make all the food okay?" he asked.

"Yeah sure," I said stepping over Karma, who now liked Kise after he had made it his mission in life to spoil her until she loved him.

He squatted down and took a bag of cat treats from his pocket, "Of course I didn't forget about you," he squealed at the ball of fluff before him.

He turned away after feeding her half the bag and began unloading the food, "You still have that?" I asked after I spotted what he was putting on.

He looked at the hot pink apron he was tying around his waist, "Of course! I could never throw something that Shiracchi gave me away!"

I smiled and hugged him from the back, "Love you blondie."

"I love you too Shiracchi," he said, "Now shoo, I don't want you doing anything for this date."

"Okay," I said heading to my couch and clicking on my tv.  
Once Kise had packed all the food up and we reached our destination, my head tilted to one side in confusion, "Cherry blossoms?" I asked.

Kise beamed, "These are the ones that bloom during winter," he said.

"This will be a beautiful last date, as I predict we'll both get pneumonia and die from the cold," I joked.

"Don't worry I'll keep you warm," Kise said determinedly.

Which of course translated to him snuggling up to me for two hours, "Kise?" I asked.

"Hmm?"

"This was another way to get me to cling on to you, wasn't it?" I asked.

"Maybe-ssu."

**Date 10:**

"Kise," I heaved, "I hate you so much right now."

"I'm sorry Shiracchi, it's worth it in the end," he said giving me a sympathetic look.

I was currently venturing into another athletic journey with Kise, although this was worse because it involved the outdoors. We were hiking and camping...yay. I guess I had slowed down enough for Kise to take enough pity on me that he took my backpack and picked me up, "It isn't too heavy?" I asked.

"Nope," he said.

"Speaking of which, we're going to be here the entire weekend, don't we need more stuff than clothes?" I asked.

Kise grinned widely, "Nope," he repeated.

"It's almost nighttime," I observed.

"We're almost there," Kise said.

"Where's "'there"' exactly?" I asked.

"Not telling," Kise said cheekily.

"You're not going to kill me are you? Because I've always held onto this suspicion that you have what it takes to be a serial killer," I said.

Kise laughed, "Just you wait and see."

About forty minutes later, we came upon the lake that Kise had been going on about, "So where are we sleeping?" I asked looking around.

"There," Kise said pointing.

I looked in the direction his finger went, and my eyes landed on a spacious cabin right on the lake that I had previously missed in the red sky of afternoon, "Oh," I said.

"Where did you think we were sleeping?" Kise asked.

"I don't know, when you said camping I thought-" I started to say.

"I would never let my girlfriend sleep in a tent," Kise scoffed.

"Well then," I said as he pulled me to the cabin.

"We have everything we need in here," he said putting out stuff down.

"The sun went down," I said looking at the window and then looking at Kise with a devilish grin, "Wanna go swimming?"

"Sure-ssu," Kise said.

One jump in the lake was all I needed to remind me that it was winter and I needed to get my ass out of there before I developed hypothermia. Kise trailed after me laughing, "Shiracchi that wasn't very smart."

"You agreed to it," I shot back as Kise lit a fire in the fireplace.

"You should warm up," Kise said rubbing my shoulders.

"You should talk," I said wrapping my arms around him and kissing his neck.

Kise responded, bringing my face up to his and planting his hands firmly on my back. As I ran my hands down his chest, he undid my bikini top and moved his mouth to my neck, "I love you," he murmured.

"I love you too," I whispered back as my fingers traced the line of his swim trunks before pulling them down.

Kise kicked them off as he did the same to my bikini bottoms and ran his fingers up and down my spine, letting them ghost over the back of my thighs before picking me up and carrying me to the bed. Kise hovered over me before attacking my neck again, slowly making his way down to my chest. He stopped in the middle and somewhere in the back of my mind worried if he could feel how fast my heart was beating with his lips, "Ryouta," I said arching my back.

Kise came back up to me, staring me down with his almost glowing golden eyes, "Shirahime," he said before closing his eyes and kissing me, bringing our foreheads together.

He opened his eyes back up to reveal a worried expression, "What?" I asked breathlessly.

He looked away from me, "This may come a surprise to you, but I've never done this before-ssu."

I chuckled, "Of all the things that could shock me, you're innocence is not one of them."

I flipped over so I was on top of him and cupped his cheek, "Don't be nervous, I'm here," I said before kissing his forehead.

**(The unofficial) Date 11:**

Ryouta wouldn't let me officially count this as a date because he said it was morbid and he wanted all our dates to be happy, but it was important to me nonetheless. In my mind, Ryouta and I's last date was my grandmother's funeral. I think I'll always remember the day exactly down to what I was wearing, how I couldn't stop myself from crying when I hate crying and the only person who hated tears more than me was her.

I also vividly remember Ryouta holding me throughout the whole procession, and how I almost brought myself to laugh when I saw him because he looked like a giant bumblebee in his black suit. I remember him holding me despite the fact that I wasn't the delinquent or badass Shira in that moment, and I remember thinking that he would never leave me again no matter what, no matter how much we changed over the years, no matter how different we were.

I also remember Shougo, who was fighting back tears himself, Sakura clinging to him with a sad expression, and I remember how he looked at Kise and then at me, like he approved, like Kise had proven to him that he could take care of me and Shougo wouldn't have to look out for me anymore. I also remember the absolute joy that came over my parents when they saw Ryouta, my father suggesting that while we were here, we could probably have a quick wedding. My mother laughed and called him an idiot before smacking him on the head. It wasn't something completely unexpected to me, looking back at the amount of joy Ryouta had brought into my life since I met him, I didn't have any doubt in my mind that he could lighten up any situation, even a funeral.

* * *

Hi there! I want to thank everyone who reads/follows/favorites this story and especially the people who review. To **Elle Abel**, the fluff is one of my favorite things to

write so I'm glad you thought last chapter was cute, and there's only one chapter left so you won't have to wait long to hear the end of the story. To

**ThatOneHeffalumpInTheCorner**, I love the role reversal in their relationship and I'm glad you like it as well, and I saved all the fluff till the very end for this fic

so enjoy. To **amy1945**, I'm not crying either, it isn't like I have to re-evaluate my life purpose after finishing this or anything. To **xx-BritCullen-xx**, Kuroko is the

sass master indeed and my last update's going to be this Sunday, on the plus side that's not a lot of waiting. To **Salome Maranya**, Shira is the more dominant one,

but they do tend to go through a revolving door of role reversals because Kise also has his badass side and Shira does have a _slightly_ more submissive side. I totally

understand the Akashi thing because I didn't intentionally have them not interact, but it just didn't fall into the way the story went that they would end up having a

scene together, in all honesty Murasakibara would've been right there with him if he wasn't my child. On Kise and Shira, I really like their dynamic and writing them,

so I'm glad it was well perceived by you, and yes, now there's only one chapter left, and that's more of a wrap up/future chapter.


	40. Chapter 40

Greetings Readers, I know I usually leave author's notes and respond to reviews below, but since this is the last chapter I wanted to thank everyone right off the bat. I've been lucky to have so may wonderful people following and reading this, letting me know what they think and it's been really nice. I just wanted to give a big thank you to all of you and also *coughs* shamelessly promote my new fic that I just posted yesterday entitled An Exception. I felt so bad for Aomine in this fic that I had to write something special for him, it's and AominexMaleOC fic, so feel free to check it out if you're interested. Anywho, back to the wonderful people who left me reviews, to **ThatOneHeffalumpInTheCorner**, I know, I'm going to miss writing Shira and Kise, and Shira's dad is a gem who I'm sire was very happy to see Kise again. To **Charlie,** it has ended, and I'm right there with you, it's a feeling akin to finishing an anime to me, but I'm glad you enjoyed it. To **Salome Maranya**, I'm glad you liked the sweetness in the last chapter, and the formatting didn't change in the unofficial date part, it's just that usually 90% of my content is dialogue and there was no speaking in that date, so the paragraphs were longer. Kise and Shira were really fun for me to right because they're so different, they do bring out the best in each other, and I'm glad you enjoyed that. To **WaffleeLi**, I hope you enjoy the last chapter, and I look forward to writing another fic with you as a reader.

* * *

I watched the scenery out of the car window as Seito babbled on and on. He sighed, "You know Shishi, a part of me is sad that I'll finally have to let you go now."

"Let me go?" I questioned.

"You know, I always held a special flame for you, and I feel like it could never happen between us now," he said.

"One, you should've given up on me a long time ago, two, I'm telling Tansai what you just told me," I said.

"No! It was a joke! A joke Shishi!" Seito whined at me.

"Wait...how did you know about Tansai and I?" he asked.

"I worked under you for four years before becoming your colleague of nearly five years, please don't insult me," I said.

"I see," Seito hummed, "You shouldn't have been working in your fragile condition anyway."

"I'll work until I die," I scoffed.

"Stop being so stubborn Shishi, I wonder how he keeps your health in check," Seito said.

"It's not like I wanted to become this way," I sighed.

"Let's just get you to the hospital in one piece okay?" Seito said cheerfully.

Once we got there, I went up into a hospital room, and was confronted by a doctor that I had become painfully familiar with, "I'm fine, let's just get this over with," was all I had to say to him.

Seito smiled at me, "Are you going to be grumpy until Kiki shows up?"

"Probably," I sighed.

"Speak of the devil, well, I'll be in the waiting room," Seito said as he twirled out the door.

I saw Ryouta in the doorway, wearing his white button down shirt and black pants, panting with his hat in his hand, "Made it," he managed to breathe out.

"You know you had some time babe," I said as he walked up to me.

He gave me a kiss, "I want to be here for all of it-ssu."

"Okay," I sighed.

"Shirahime, I mean all of it," he said seriously.

I looked at him, "What do you mean?"

He sighed, "I really don't want to stress you out right now, but I ran into my old manager at the airport today."

"I see," I said.

I knew where this was going. For the past five years I had worked as a history professor alongside Seito at the university while Ryouta was employed as a pilot. We had both been married to our work, and each other, until now. I stood up and started pacing, "I don't want to make you do anything you don't want to do," I said.

"This is something I want to do, I want to be here to take care of things," he said grabbing my hands.

He smiled and started to lead me in a slow dance, "Your hospital gown, it's white, reminds me of our wedding day."

I smiled at the memory, "I remember, you made me wear that horribly long dress."

Ryouta smiled, "Sorry."

"It's okay, it was your day after all," I said.

He kissed my nose, "My Shirahime, my white princess."

I smiled as he gently rubbed our noses together, "That's when you're supposed to say I'm your prince," he whined.

"You are the yellow snow in winter," I teased.

"Eight years of marriage later and you're still just as mean," Ryouta pouted.

"God, has it been that long?" I asked.

"Mhmm, still don't know how I convinced you," he said.

"I know, we only dated for two months before we got married," I said.

"We knew each other before that though," Ryouta said.

"I thought you wanted to see the world," I mumbled.

"I already saw the world, I just want to be with you," Kise murmured, "I've already been away from you enough through this."

"Okay," I said getting back into the bed.

"You could be a little more excited, we're having a baby not dying-ssu," he said.

I glared at him, "Until you, Mr. Crappy pain tolerance who can't even get a second earring, experiences the pain of labour, you can shut your mouth."

"Sorry," he said coming up to me and stroking my hair, "Is there anything I can get the doctor to do?"

I smiled, "No, he should be coming with the pain meds soon enough. Ryouta, are you sure you want to go back to modeling?" I asked him.

He sat down, "I'm sure, I'll be making a little bit more money and I'll be the coolest stay at home dad-ssu!" he said excitedly.

I laughed, "I have no doubt you'll be a very good dad Ryo."

"HAS ANYTHING HAPPENED YET!" I heard a familiar voice yell as she burst through the door.

"Not yet Sakura," I said.

"Stop yellin so damn loud," Shougo said as he walked in.

"Hime-chan no, stop pulling on daddy's hair," Sakura chided the small girl with light pink hair and silver eyes seated on Shougo's back.

"That's what you get when you have a kids with Shougo's genes and then decide to name her after me," I laughed.

"Who else was I going to name her after? you're the one who introduced Shougo and I," Sakura said.

She smiled, "Speaking of names, have you decided on what you're naming him?"

"Kise Jr. bit the dust pretty quick," I said.

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Because we already had a Kise Jr. and he died. You don't just name your first born after a dead fish," Ryouta said.

"But we came up with something," I said.

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

Ryouta and I looked at each other, "If it would be alright with you guys, we wanted to name our son after Shougo."

"That is so cute," Sakura squealed, "And he'll be two years younger than Shirahime-chan, DO YOU REALIZE WHAT THAT MEANS!? In sixteen years we could have another Shougo and Shira pair!"

"Why the fuck would you want to name your kid after me?" Shougo asked.

"Why did you want to name your daughter after me?" I asked back.

Shougo pointed to Sakura, and I in turn pointed to Kise, "If it wasn't for Shougo's intense hatred for me, things might not have gone the way they did," Kise beamed.

"And," he continued, "We're practically brothers now," he said trying to catch Shougo in a hug.

"Get away from me you blonde psychopath!" Shougo growled as he shimmied away from Ryouta.

"There is one drawback to naming our kid after you," I said.

"Oh yeah, what's that?" Shougo asked.

"In sixteen years, he might come home with cornrows," I said.

"Fuck you Shira," he scowled.

"Fuck you too Sho," I cooed.

* * *

"Honey."

"Honey."

"Honey."

I opened my eyes, "Never were a morning person were you?" the man above me giggled.

"Sleep," I said and rolled over.

"Not on your day off, and it's a special day remember?" Ryouta whined.

"Fifteen years," I said.

"Fifteen years, it went by so fast," he said.

"Fifteen years of your blonde ass waking me up," I scowled.

Ryouta laughed, "I was waking you up way before we got married, Shi-ra-cchi."

I sat up and planted my face in his neck, "That old nickname always riles you up-ssu," he teased.

"Shut up blondie," I said tiredly.

"Come on, I made breakfast," Ryouta said picking me up bridal style and carrying me to the kitchen.

"Mornin Mom," I heard as he sat me down at the table.

"Hey boys, how are you feeling about your first day of school?" I asked munching on a piece of toast.

"Eh, we'll be fine," the two across from me said in unison.

"And if anyone tries to start something with my little bros I'll take care of em," my oldest said to me.

"Good boy," I said ruffling his hair, "Remember thumbs out when you punch someone."

"He's seven years old," Ryouta said sitting down.

"So? it's never too early to learn," I said.

"Yeah, uncle Haizaki said that he was fighting way before he met Mom, I gotta keep up with my namesake," my oldest said.

"Like you could be as cool as uncle Haizaki, _Sho_," one of the two acrossed from me taunted.

"Yeah, well at least I have the roughest uncle's name, uncle Aomine's just a perv, _Daiki_," Sho sneered.

"Oh yeah?" Daiki started, "Well if he's so rough, why did uncle Aomine punch his lights out in high school?"

"If anyone's the most violent I think it's uncle Haizami, he almost stabbed uncle Hanamiya to death," the last one spoke up.

"Shut up, _Takeda_," Sho said.

"Sho," I said.

"What?" he asked turning to me.

"Don't antagonize Take, he's quiet. It's the quiet ones that could kill," I said sipping my coffee.

"And if anyone's the scariest it's me, now get on to school," I said.

As the three of them walked out the door I turned to Ryouta, "I hope you're happy blondie."

"How is this my fault? You're the one with the delinquent genes," Kise pouted.

"Shougo I get, but why did you insist on naming the twins Takeda and Daiki?" I asked.

"Because without them, we wouldn't have ended up together," Ryouta said sweetly planting a kiss on my head.

"Well, in ten years, between the three of them and Haizaki Shirahime, Tokyo's going to find itself terrorized," I said.

"Enough about that, back to our anniversary," Ryouta said.

"What do you have planned this year?" I asked.

"Can it be a surprise?" he asked.

"Okay," I said drinking the last of my coffee.

An hour later, I found myself at the Meiji Shrine, the location of our wedding ceremony. Ryouta took me back to the prayer wall, "Do you remember when we wrote our wishes down?" he asked me.

"Yes," I said.

His eyes scanned the wall, "I came back here right before our wedding and marked them."

"You did?" I asked him.

He nodded, before plucking two yellowed and aged pieces of paper that each had a black line drawn on them. He handed me one, "Open it?" I asked.

He nodded, and we both unfolded the worn pieces of paper. _I want to be with Shiracchi always,_ is what mine read, "Ryo," I looked up at him, seeing him give me the same look I was giving him.

"Shi," he said.

I sighed loudly, "It's been nearly two decades, when are you ever going to stop making me feel this way?" I said blushing.

Ryouta blushed as well, "I hope never, because I don't see you stopping either."

I felt myself pressed up against the wall, and kissed with the same ferocity that came with the first time we kissed. Back when we were in the hospital room with my grandmother, clinging to each other with nothing but the mutual feeling that we wanted to be together. Ryouta parted from me, a thin line of saliva connecting the two of us, "You're being quite a bad boy Ryo, that isn't how adults are supposed to kiss," I teased him.

He wiped his mouth, "I'm not mature enough to kiss like a grown up."

I laughed, "I love you so much."

"I love you too sweetheart," he said pulling me close to him.

"Shirahime?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"I want another kid," he said.

"Is this because of the old men?" I asked.

"No-ssu," he said defensively.

"Don't lie to me," I said.

"WE HAVE THREE CHILDREN, HOW DO ALL OF THEM HAVE BROWN EYES AND BLACK HAIR-SSU!" he cried.

"I know you want the blonde haired blue eyed foreigner child," I said petting him.

"Can we try?" he sniffed.

"That's not necessary," I said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I went to the doctor the other day, and I'm pregnant," I said nonchalantly.

Kise's eyes widened before he bent down to my stomach, "How long?" he asked.

"Around twelve weeks," I said.

Kise looked at my stomach, "It doesn't look like it," he said putting his ear to my midsection.

"I know, they say that carrying girls is easier than boys so it might be th-" I started.

"Girl?" Kise interrupted me, "I'm going to have a daughter?" he asked.

I nodded as he broke out into a huge grin, "She's gonna be the blue eyed blonde haired child I know it!"

I smiled, "Can we give her an actual name though, I don't know if I can change the diapers of someone named after a friend again."

"Of course honey-ssu," Kise said dancing around the shrine.

"This is the last one," I stated.

Kise stopped dancing, "Just one more?"

"No Ryouta, four is already a lot," I said.

"But if we have one more than I can have a basketball team," he whined.

I gave him an apathetic look, "I'm done with you," I said walking away.

"Shirahime wait!" Kise said running after me, "I'm sorry!"

"SSSHHHIRRRAACCCCHHIIII!"


End file.
